Walk to the Ends of the Earth for Her
by 2sidedstoryteller29995
Summary: For her. His daughter. Not the person they're asking him to have her become. Most people in these kind of situations don't have a choice, they just deal with the consequences. Yet there would be no choice anyway. To change her, would mean her not being Lily. His daughter The one he would walk to the ends of the earth for. Whether or not she could walk...
1. What Magic Couldn't Quite Do

'You know I really think we should take you in…' Harry trailed off, glancing down at his wife's pale face filled with concern for her well-being.

No, it's ok- I'll be f- fine- she was forced to stop speaking as a ripple of a pain shot through her abdomen.

Today was the 7th of August exactly 10 weeks to Ginny's due date. This wasn't supposed to be happening… Leaving her no choice, Harry levitated her out of the house and into the car. When she was settled across the backseat, he sent a his stag to the Burrow with a message. Explaining and begging Mrs Weasley to come quickly to watch over the still sleeping boys. She would get it and she would come. He was not worried for their safety. Only that of Ginny and his little girl.

They drove as quickly as they could to the centre of Muggle London- Ginny every so often have to point her wand out the window and disillusion policemen as they ran red lights. Finally after what felt like hours they arrived. Ginny, almost bent double with pain, stumbled towards the mannequin in the window and Harry gave their details. Looking around to make sure they wouldn't be seen, he tapped the glass, taking Ginny's hand and guiding her in. They landed safely on the other side.

People cleared the way to the Welcome Witch's desk when they saw the Potters coming- for once Harry's celebrity status could be of use!

'I'm sorry, I think my wife is in labour- only 30 weeks.

The Welcome Witch gave no sign that she heard him. Continuing to chew her gum and run her finger down the file on her desk. She gave a start, as she glanced up, on the verge of blowing a large bubble, to find Harry's wind tip pointed, poised to strike, between her eyes.

If she was frightened she gave no outer sign of it. Her voice remained a monotone and she smiled sweetly at him and stated ' This is a hospital for _Magical _Maladies and Injuries ' She pointed to the list on the front of the desk. 'Do you see 'Maternity ward on that list?'

'No-.' She nodded triumphantly, with a huge smirk on her face.

'Do you know who we are?'

She nodded. 'Yes, Mr Potter.'

'Do you have kids? We're not first time parents. We've 2 strong boys. This baby isn't strong, it's too early. She will die, if Ginny doesn't get medical attention. Medical attention you know full well Muggle doctors can't give. So despite that you expect me to a Muggle Hospital and watch my wife suffer needlessly, maybe even die? There's no spell to bring her back to life. So what would be the point of bringing her back later? The baby is coming now. I know we're not supposed to be here, but this isn't supposed to be happening!'

Ginny tried to supress a moan. 'I don't care if it's on the list. Just tell me where I can find-'

He was cut off by Padma's shriek as she caught sight of them. Taking one look at the distressed pregnant woman in front of her, she took the situation in hand. Ignoring the Welcome witch, she escorted them to the First Floor.

They were led to level Ginny settled herself on the bed to be examined. It wasn't long before she had to be put on a trolley to be wheeled down to an operating room. Harry was supplied with a pair of scrubs. It was all very sudden. As he tried to display some grasp on things he took her aside and asked.' Can you see a head? Is it too late to stop the contractions?'

He had been hoping against hope that they had some spell which could stop the entire process. Find some way of keeping his little girl where she was until Ginny's due date.

Padma shook her head. 'No, it's too late for that. We can see feet. Myself and other, more experienced staff, educated in Muggle Medicine as well as Magical Healing practices will, with your permission, use whatever methods needed to help your daughter.'

He managed to nod. His brain was reeling from information overload _Too late? Oh No! Then to the most pressing matter _'She's coming out backwards?' He hissed, alarmed. Then an unwelcome thought. _Wasn't she supposed to be experienced one? _Padma was indeed the head of Maternity services at St. Mungo's. In fact, she was really the only staff member they had who was fully dedicated to that area. She was the one you went to when you found out you were pregnant. You had a check-up or two, but the staff at St. Mungo's weren't nearly as involved as those in Muggle Maternity Hospitals. Yes, they had entire hospitals dedicated to Obstetrics. And countless appointments. According to Hermione anyway.

Like the welcome witch pointed out, they didn't have a Maternity Ward. The whole process of a wizard birth thing was done at home. Generally it was supervised by family members who had kids. In Ginny's case, her mother. If there was a problem , Padma was called upon to attend. However James and Al's births had been quick and relatively painless, Mrs Weasley was fairly nifty with a wand when it came to numbing charms. Obviously, you went to pre-natal classes with other magical couples first. However, that hadn't included much detail on what to do if your wife went into premature labour.

Yet, here he was entrusting his wife's care to Muggle Born healers who liked to dabble in Muggle Medicine. Just as Muggle 'Magicians' liked to dabble in illusions. Failing miserably, of course, whether they liked to admit it or not. He was beyond furious now. As well as worried sick.

Padma did her best to reassure him. 'We're not going to let anything happen to her.'

_Hadn't Padma told them when Ginny was first pregnant with James that, she hardly ever had to be called to anyone's homes_? Flaunting it like it was a success rate. When really, all it meant was that she would be spectacularly unprepared if things went wrong. As they were now.

However, as he turned back to face his wife he tried his best to keep a straight face. _She couldn't know. It would be too much. She wasn't coping very well as it was. She needed to think it was all going to be fine._

Just like he hoped and prayed it would be.

Ginny it seemed was slightly calmer than before. They might not be able to stop the contractions, but they could stop the pain. Her lower half had been charmed into numbness.

''You know you're not going to die right?'

She had regained a lot of her composure now that she wasn't constantly plagued by pain. She was almost back to herself. Enough to cause her to struggle upright and almost scream at him. 'I'm pregnant Harry, not an idiot! Of course I knew I wasn't going to die!

She glanced around to make sure they weren't being overheard. She needn't have worried. Padma was too busy checking over things one more time before they left for the OR to pay them any mind.

She glanced down at the blanket, hands on her bump. Refusing to meet Harry's eyes. If she had looked up, he would have seen that some colour was finding its way back into her cheeks.

'I knew I wasn't going to die because you have a 'saving people thing.' You don't _let _people die You didn't let me die in the Chamber. Even though I was just your best friend's shy baby sister...'

She was almost childlike in her reasoning. Harry knew he had been right to shelter her. Hopefully, their little girl would be born healthy. Then they could put this whole nightmare behind them and get on with the things that normal parents did. 6 am feds, soothing screaming infants. That he could handle. Anything was better than this agonising wait.

Harry reached down and tipped her chin up, so that her eyes could meet his. 'I just said it, so we could get help. I didn't mean it. But I mean it when I say I love you. So much. You do what you have to do for those you love.' He kissed the top of her head, and helped her lie back on the pillows.

'I know Harry... But, um... thanks for saying it.'

'You're welcome.'

She giggled. 'That 'welcome' witch was a witch of the highest degree. So great in fact, it's only right to swap the 'w' for a 'b'

At this, Harry feigned mock indignation. 'Ginny!'

'What Harry? I'm teaching her to spell. Anyway it's true. She knew what you wanted and wouldn't give it to you.'

'We'll have plenty of time for that in a few years. It's probably she was jealous of you. Maybe she wanted me. Maybe she wanted your good looks.'

'I was going to say that she wasn't a parent. But your right- that's probably because she doesn't have a nice husband or boyfriend. You may be nice , but you're a rubbish liar.' She held her hands out to indicate her bulky frame. I'd hate to her hair though- platinum blond!'

He reached down and tucked a strand of her fiery hair behind her right ear. 'I wonder what kind of hair our girl will have?' I'm counting on red.'

Ginny couldn't help but raise her eyes to heaven. She supposed she only had herself to blame for Harry's taste in woman. She supposed she could handle the occasional temper tantrum. Albus was too young to be much trouble. Yet James, barely a year and a half older caused enough mischief for two. That had nothing to do with hair colour. Ever since they'd christened him 'James Sirius', he'd taken it upon his small shoulders to live up to his namesakes.

Harry putting a positive spin on things had worked. Some time had passed and without them realising it they were at the door of the OR.

When they went inside Harry discovered that the extra 'staff' Padma referred to turned out to be a curly haired young thing, barely 17 or so it seemed to Harry. Healer Lorraine Jones. She told him that she was a Muggle born. Her dad was a wizard. Her mother was a Muggle OBGYN. She had qualified as an expert in accidental spell reversal over 2 years ago. While her dad had been proud as punch, her mother hadn't considered to be a proper job. So under pressure from her, she had just embarked on training to become a Muggle midwife, using a time-turner to manage her schedule. Although, her real passion lay in accidental spell removal.

Harry couldn't give a damn about the ins and outs of her life story. It all boiled down to one simple fact; she was inexperienced as hell. Not the fact that she was wasting time talking to him that could have been used to help the baby.

It appeared that they're idea of not letting anything happen to the baby, involved cutting Ginny open and removing her. Harry could only hope that the end would justify the means. When they brandished their wands and started using them like scalpels on his wife's lower half he gulped and stopped looking. _Didn't that seem awfully similar to the procedure Hermione had when she was giving birth to Rose? In a Muggle hospital?_

Instead tried to distract Ginny as he reminded her of how this had all come about. It had been their 7th anniversary in February of this year. As a surprise gift Molly and Arthur had arranged for them to have a romantic break in Ireland- away from James and Al. They had loads of fun and ended up in this situation. The baby herself had been a wonderful surprise, they'd only gotten into proper baby planning mode about two weeks ago- believing that they would have loads of time – and yet here they were!

Her, holding his now clammy hand in a death grip like her life depended on it. Like their daughter's life depended on it, rather than being in the clumsy hands of 2 bumbling healers, whose experience when combined, didn't even measure up to them being _half_ trained for what they were doing.

Harry was only aroused from his thoughts when he saw a healer's gloved hands plunge into his wife and return with the tiniest thing he had ever seen. There was a pause, the baby gave a start and began crying. Ginny who up until this point had her head down eyes closed opened them and grinned up at her in sheer relief. She was going to be fine!

Although they only saw her for what seemed like a second before she was whisked off, to have shield charms put on her. Or at least that's what it looked like when Harry was finally allowed to see her. She was in a normal cot, surrounded by a bubble. The Healer Jones, once more entrusted with her care explained to the air within the bubble was kept at a constant temperature. A temperature she couldn't maintain herself at the time, because of lack of body fat.

It didn't stop there though. Another charm meant that if her heart rate went under 72 beats per minute alarm bells would sound. It was like a Muggle heart monitor, except of course it didn't run on electricity or have wires.

The heart monitor made sure her heart pumped oxygen rich blood around the body. However, the blood wasn't magically oxygenised. There was one tube connected to her nose. Another charm caused it to be constantly filled with oxygen, which once inhaled travelled around the body. It was breathing for her. Or so it seemed. Until she could herself. If that day ever came.

**A/N: What do you think? Let me know- reviews would be great!**


	2. Breathe

In a daze family were called- Hugs were shared. James was very anxious to see his little sister and his mum but Harry didn't think it was such a good idea. He wanted to play with her, he had said so since the day they told him he was going to have a sibling. The baby was in no position to play, certainly not now. Al was just plain anxious. He loved his grandmother, but waking up to find his mother and father gone had frightened him.

They had a rough few hours after the birth but things had calmed down now. Ginny however having begged to see her daughter as soon as the charm was removed, was beside her self to see her little girl in a bubble, when all she wanted to do was hold her. However, she didn't let this stop her. She stayed at her cot side for the next few hours talking to the baby and comforting her. Harry went and came back. Having dropped the off the boys: they were going to stay at the Burrow for a few weeks.

When he walked in, she croaked "Harry, she doesn't have a name. We have to give her a name so she feels like she belongs. She has to want to stay and fight if she doesn't she'll die…" Ginny trailed off in tears. Harry bent down and embraced her.

The naming process was disrupted as the door to the ward burst open. In came Luna and her husband Rolf. Harry had owled them. They dropped everything. Cutting their expedition short by a week was a small price to pay to see her Godchild as far as Luna was concerned. She was a good friend.

Harry stood to shake Rolf's hand. Luna however hugged the both of them. Eventually, breaking away she went to the bubble. She stood watching. She only spoke when she had something worth saying. Harry liked that about her. There wasn't much you could say in this sort of situation, but her presence was enough.

She then went on to brew Earl Grey tea. As this went on Harry and Ginny thought about what to call their daughter.

'You promised me I could pick the first name this time' she smiled remembering how Harry had pleaded with her to name their youngest son Albus- and she had given in! She loved his name but for their daughter who'd had a turbulent enough start to life Ginny felt that something more normal was in order.

Ginny thought of all the people that she ever knew that fought to live.

They lapsed into silence as Ginny gazed out the window at the bright moon. Harry paused and whispered to his wife what about Luna?" Ginny's face was a picture of confusion. "It's lovely- but it's so unusual...

"Why not?" he answered. "The moon is shining down tonight, she was born in August…" He suddenly remembered: "Ginny August in Irish is Lúnasa, Luna was meant to be her midwife, it feels right.

Ginny grinned for the first time since the birth. He wasn't going to let this drop and in fact he was right. She spent the next few minutes in a pensive state. Bill he had so much pain and trouble every full moon and yet he and his relationship with Fleur were stronger as a result. It did feel right, just not as a first name.

'I like... Lily.'

Harry didn't know what to say. Rolf proposed a toast. They were just about to raise their mugs in her honour when Rolf produced something a 'little stronger' from his cloak. _Firewhiskey._ The liquid burned the back of Harry's throat, though it steadied his nerves. His hands hadn't stopped shaking since she came into the world.

Generally a hands-on parent, for those first few nights Harry couldn't imagine holding his daughter. _What if he dropped her, or worse, crushed her?_

Usually, Ginny went nuts if she had to sit still for more than a few minutes, or stay cooped up indoors. Yet, even though she was well enough to be discharged the last thing she wanted to do was go home. Without Lily.

They both gave a huge sigh of relief when the healers decided it was time to let Lily breath on her own. After 36 hours and 27 minutes. The rising and falling of her chest confirmed that she planned to stay where she was.

She was trapped in a bubble, but at least she could breathe.

**A/N: Not much of a chapter I know. This one and the next will be fillers. I'd still love to know what you think so far though. Thanks for all the support!**


	3. Pop Goes the Bubble

They couldn't hold it off forever. One day their secure little bubble would have to pop.

They would bring her home.

Taking those first few steps outside was the most daunting. Compared to the clinical, sterile, stale air of the hospital the outside world was fresh. Noisy, crowded. It was hard to believe this was Lily's first time outside. Harry gripped her baby carrier tightly. Ginny was close beside as they strolled down the bustling street, having slipped into the crowd after coming out through the glass.

The car seemed to appear almost out of nowhere, gliding into a free parking space. Ron waved from the passenger seat. Ginny conjured a car seat and settled Lily into it. She and Harry sat on either side of their daughter in the back seat.

Hermione beamed at them. 'She's getting so big !' _Like she hadn't been there every day watching it creep up just like they had. Like 6 pounds 8 (and a half) ounces well big_. _Like Hugo hadn't been 7 pounds when he was born, leaving the hospital with Hermione 2 days later. _

They had come a long way from her being a little pink scrap of just over 1 pound, not able to breathe on her own or maintain her own temperature. Both of them still feared for her, though they didn't like to admit it, it was plainly obvious. Take for example the 3 layers of clothing that they had decided were necessary for the 2 minute walk to the car.

A good while latter, Hermione pulled into the driveway and they disembarked carefully. Ron jumped down and ran to get the door, before flooing away. When all of them were sitting comfortably on the couch, Ginny broke the silence. 'Thanks for everything.'

'You two would have done the same for us.' _But you didn't have to. _They both knew the reason the Weasleys were here. They had a perfectly healthy child at home, whom they could bear to leave, knowing that when they came he would still be breathing. They felt somewhat guilty. Their children were born so close together that it could have easily been Hugo in Lily's situation. They would do anything to help.

Ginny gave her a wan smiled and took a packet of tissues from her handbag. Both women dried their eyes. It wasn't quick enough for James though. He came tumbling out of the fireplace a moment later and immediately sussed that something was wrong.

'Why are you crying mummy?'

'I'm just really glad to see you James,' She squeezed him tightly.

'A lot of people cry when they're happy mate.' Ron had joined the little group, with Albus in his arms.

'Did you cry when Lily was born?' James wanted to know.

'Yes sweetie.'

'For me too?'

His mother nodded.

'And Albus?'

She nodded again.

'Today we were happy too, because all three of you came home together. So we cried buckets,' Harry added.

They were a proper family now. All together.

_They said leaving the hospital was like leaving a bubble, but they didn't say there would be bubbles to pop at home too!_

George had given James a bubble-blower and some washing-up liquid back at the Burrow. He was now blowing streams of bubbles into the air, giggling madly all the while. Albus was jumping into the air, trying to pop as many as he could. The parents and their newest edition looked on, knowing it wouldn't be long before she too would join in on her brothers' fun and games.

That night, before bed there was a problem. Albus took the bathtub while James took the shower. The only trouble was, Albus wanted Lily to share his bath with him. It took a lot of effort to persuade him that it wasn't the best idea in the world. They compromised in that Albus could watch when it was Lily's turn, if he wanted. He did so, his big brown eyes filled with curiosity, as she squirmed about.

'When they were finished he planted a kiss a top his little sister's bald head and whispered goodnight. After ensuring that he had brushed his teeth, Harry tucked him in. When he went next door looking for James, he found he was already asleep with the covers pulled up. A Harry wrapped the blankets more snuggly around him, he awoke.

'Daddy! Go tuck Lily in! I'm big, I can do it myself.

'I know James.'

'Someday I'm going to be just as big and strong as you. Stronger even. Stronger than Hagrid.' As if to demonstrate he flexed his muscles eagerly. Harry nodded seriously. Then, satisfied he had made himself clear to his father, he closed his eyes. Within minutes he was asleep.

He looked small and vulnerable beneath the covers, but there was no denying it. His son was growing up.

Harry and Ginny were pleased. The bubble had popped indeed, like they knew it would. Yet with that, had come much unexpected joy for all the family.

In truth though, it hadn't popped. Simply expanded. From now on more and more people would enter it, caring for Lily. Keeping her safe.

**A/N: Absolute fluff I know! Had to be done- I'm sorry to say the next few chapters aren't going to be sunshine and rainbows...Thanks for to all my readers for your support **


	4. No Way Around it

Another trip to the Burrow. Not an entirely pleasant one either. That is, even was even awkward than usual. Not that anyone else drew attention to what was obvious. Things reached a climax before dinner. James' birthday dinner, in fact.

All of the older kids were outside. Victoire was accustomed to riding a broom and had the makings of a excellent chaser. Dominique and Molly had no interest in flying, while Louis was getting better with each passing day. Now being the ripe old age of 5 James had gotten his first proper broomstick. Albus and Rose were green with envy and couldn't wait until it was their 5th birthdays. The only one missing was Teddy; he had plans to try out for Hufflepuff's team next year.

He had been up since dawn that morning practicing. Now, eager to show off, his audience were assembled in the orchard. When asked if he wanted his mum to come and watch he cheekily replied 'I don't need a girl to teach me to play Quidditch. I want to play for the Tornados when I grow up, not the Harpies!' _A resounding no then! _She left them to it. 

Herself and Angelina rolled their eyes- _so much for the glory days. _However, they didn't talk about Quidditch long, Audrey complained and Hermione was struggled to feign interest. So, the conversation turned to the children. Not that they had a lot of time to sit on their laurels and sip tea. Keeping Lucy, Roxanne and Hugo out of mischief was no mean feat. Roxanne took after her father, Lucy followed her older cousin's every move and Hugo, was just Hugo. That being said, Hermione was a little less worried for his safety now. Walking since a year old, three months on he had gotten the hang of it well enough for his mother not to exclaim about him needing a crash helmet, so high was the incidence of his falling.

Lily, on the other hand was simply content to sit in her mother's lap and watch the world go by. She wasn't yet walking. It was this that had ruined recent outings to Ginny's family home. Now, even Hugo, who was younger than Lily by 2 weeks, had mastered the art of ambulation. Her cousins seemed to be moving on to bigger things, with no sign of Lily catching up. In an attempt to make light of it, Ginny joked 'You're all trying to get them to sit still, while I'm this little one up and about.'

'Maybe that's a blessing; loook at poor Hugo falling about the place for the last three months. She's just cautious. She'll walk when she's ready.' The others nodded.

She added as an afterthought 'maybe she'll be a Ravenclaw when she goes to Hogwarts. Whereas I think Hugo here is destined to be a Gryffindor a courageous idiot like his father.'

As though having heard his name mentioned Ron popped his head in the door. 'Great to know what you really think of me Hermione.'

She simply leaned back in her chair, a smile playing on his lips. 'Did I say it wasn't endearing?'

As per usual, Ron's ears turned pink. However, they were soon interrupted as James, Louis, Albus and Rose entered. Louis and James were soaking wet. 'The games was stopped because of the rain,' he informed his mother.

As there was no free chair available, he sprawled dejectedly at his mother's feet, although not before shaking himself like a dog to rid himself of water and drowning Lily in the process.

'Well, you wouldn't want to catch a cold on your birthday now would you James?' Harry was right but playing on seemed more adventurous thing to do.

Thankfully James' bad mood evaporated as soon as dinner was announced. He raced into the kitchen to take his place at the top of the table for the day, all but food forgotten. However, it took Harry tapping Ginny on the shoulder to snap her out of her reverie. When Harry asked her if something was wrong, she brushed it off. _Hermione was probably right. _

Yet, the thought wouldn't go away. It was her instincts that drove her to think something was wrong. Her desire to be wrong that meant she mentioned it to Harry that night. And it was the way he simply nodded which confirmed her worst fear.


	5. Only So Much We Can Do

_If it wasn't for her he wouldn't be here. _Forced to reminisce on the weeks spent trapped inside the white walls. He hated with a ferocity matched only by the hellish nightmare, also known as Lily's first few weeks. He loved her though, that was for certain. He would do anything, be anyone, go anywhere. _If it was St. Mungo's then so be it... _Ginny on the other hand was a bundle of nerves, no particular emotion taking over, except perhaps dread. Dread felt in her first few weeks when it was thought she might never get to leave.

It didn't feel right to be brining such a healthy baby back to hospital- you could hardly call her a toddler as she could only crawl. One who's rosebud lips parted in wonder, breathing in the stale air tinged with disinfectant. She gazed about her, with avid curiosity at the other people. All of them with painfully obvious injuries and maladies. _She didn't belong here. She was not injure, she was not in pain. She knew no different. _

She wanted to get help for her daughter. _Something _was wrong. It was precisely that something which made it extremely difficult to stop the wave of dread mounting whenever she paused to think. It was so wild and ferocious that there was no running from it. Any minute now it would wash over her and they would once again be engulfed in hospital life; perhaps never to leave.

They had arrived a couple of minutes and were now seated in the waiting area. Harry was pacing the floor, eyes to the ground avoiding meeting the gaze of the Welcome Witch. To his indignation they still hadn't added 'Maternity' to the list. He also noted there was no sign of a section dedicated to paediatrics, so what were they doing here? Footsteps coming towards them indicated that the time when they would get answers was drawing nearer He forced himself to look up when he heard Padma call Ginny's name. He tried to gesture to Ginny to give Lily to him, they could still make a run for it.

'Harry! Lily!' _Damn it! _He met Padma's eyes and nodded, watching her every move. _If she thought she was coming anywhere near Lily she had another thing coming. _

'Hi guys, I'm sorry about the late appointment. Follow me.' They rose. Somehow, Ginny had managed to wrangle one for the day after James' birthday. It was late though; the sky was inky black. Surprisingly they didn't have far to go. Just to the nearby fireplace.

'Powder's there. In you go. Don't worry everything will be explained when you arrive at GOSH; Great Ormond Street Hospital. Speak clearly now. Good luck!' With that, she bustled away. Harry was left standing there feeling as foolish as he had the first time he used the Floo Network. It was Ginny that reached up and took a handful of powder from the pot. Throwing into the flames caused them to turn emerald green. Ginny took his hand and together they entered the flames, speaking the destination loud and clear. Ginny's eyes were closed. She trusted that they were going to the right place. Lily hated the flames; hiding her face in his chest and quivering.

Harry forced himself to keep his eyes open; despite the fact that they ached because of the speed at which the images flashed past. It was when things started slowing down that it hit him; _a Muggle Children's Hospital! _

He remembered it well having been a patient there when he was 4. A particularly bad dog bite from Aunt Marge's dog Ripper being the cause. Not wanting to ruin Dudley's birthday tea he hadn't been brought straight to the Accident and Emergency Department. Then, they had to wait until Marge went home, not wanting to ruin her visit by spending the day in the hospital. So they had waited three days to have what Petunia proclaimed as a 'mere scratch' seen to. Her refusal to acknowledge it as a proper injury meant no anti-septic cream or the like. By the time she found the time to take him, complaining all the time it was badly infected. _Oh the pain! _

However, what he remembered most from that day was the agonising wait, sitting in a crowded room filled with what seemed like hundreds of other distressed children and adults. _Muggles. _Most of them highly distressed, in tears. _Imagine what they're going to be like when they see us popping out of the fireplace. _

_Why was this taking so long anyway? _

As if his query had been heard, they came to an abrupt stop. Climbing out, they dusted off the soot from their clothes- thankfully Muggle and came face to face with a man with greying hair, dressed in a white coat.

'Gosh! I'll never get used to that as long as I live! My daughter suggested having out house connected to the Floo Network for ease of access, but I put my foot down.'

He paused long enough to stick out his hand. 'Dr. Vincent Thorne, at your service! Although, I must ask you to cast a- I think it's a disillusioning charm- before we proceed. Perhaps a silencing one too, over all of us. It's not a good idea to wait about.'

Seemingly unable to perform magic himself, his gaze was fixed on Ginny. Slightly taken aback, she hastily removed her wand from the waistband of her jeans and did as she was told. Then, they set off with the doctor in front.

He did not speak or make a sound until they walked down the corridor, taken 3 flights of stairs, a left and a left turn into an area for out-patients. They then left it behind in favour of a small office. Once inside Ginny removed the charms. Then, they watched as the doctor took a seat behind the desk. He gestured for them to join him, before reaching into one of the desk drawers and removing some candles, before striking a match to light them.

'I'm sorry about that. Standard procedure I'm afraid. You came in through the Office of the Chairperson of the Hospital Board- a Dr. Stephen Hughes. His office is the only one fancy enough to have a fireplace. He left work 2 hours ago. The only other place with a fireplace in it is the kitchens and they're open all night. Fully staffed too. Wouldn't do to have the _Muggles _find out would it?' He laughed.

Harry couldn't help but think something was wrong. _Had Ginny been expecting this?_ A bemused look from her told him she hadn't.

'It's funny I should say that really. You see I am a Muggle.'

'Surely they warned you? Apparently not. Well! Just when we got our services here up to scratch, your end go and let us down. This is the outpatients department. For two nights once a month a clinic is held in England, Scotland, Whales and Northern Ireland for the Wizarding population of Britain to attend. Those who have conditions, illnesses or the like not strictly magical. One night is for adults. One night is for children. Tonight being Monday Night and the fourth week in November. The clinic is held here, in Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital.'

He paused for breath and went on. 'When the everyday outpatient clinic shuts down for the night, we take over. We being, all the doctors who are aware of the magical world. Like Dr Jameson, a physiologist whose wife is a witch. On their wedding night, she told him and he thought she was having a nervous breakdown from all the stress.'

'Does that happen often?'

'Well, relatively so yes. As doctors we're attracted to intellect in our partners. Occasionally , said intellect manifests itself in the form of magical abilities. Then they went on to have very gifted children. He tells me his eldest, Caroline was in _Ravenclaw _house. His son Barry was in _Hufflepuff_. I believe it was Barry who convinced him to offer his services to the Ministry of Magic. A good man Barry. I've been informed he's training to be _healer, _your version of a doctor. Henry is pleased. Caroline just got engaged to a wizard. Works in banking. It is probable that there children will be gifted then.'

'Not like Dr. Brown. He's a squib. Had his heart set on being a Healer he did, just never got the letter from Hogwarts. So he cut himself off from the magical world. Took a long time for him to be convinced to offer his services. My wife, Dr Green, she and I were attracted to each other's intellect. We too, had a very gifted child. Though, neither of us have a drop of magical blood. She was sorted into the house with the lion on the banner. Such a brave girl, the day the man from the school came to tell us, she just accepted who she was. No problem!'

'I took a little longer to come around though. When I learned that there were so many new dangers for her to face. Then I was told there were no doctors. I had to do something. So I took up this job in addition to my post in Cardiff when she was 15. Had some extra free time, because she was off at school. They pay me in gold you know. Recently I've been putting it in a special savings account for my grandson. He'll have a lot to buy next year when he goes off to school. He's been showing signs since he was about 7. Herself and Gerald couldn't be prouder. But of course you know all about that as parents to this little one yourselves.'

Then, he seemed to realise that they were here for an appointment, not just to hear about his family. 'Any questions?'

Ginny spoke first. 'How many doctors are there here?'

'Well, there's myself and my wife, neurology and orthopedics respectively. Dr Jameson- physiology Dr Brown- specialises in genetics. Not to mention Nurse Thompson. As you know, a lot but all conditions can be cured by cured by magic. As I'm sure you know, your hospital has its own OBGYN service. We do a lot of work with St. Mungo's involving muggles too.'

'So to what do I owe the pleasure of having such a beautiful little girl in my office?' He smiled at Lily. She was inspecting him with interest. 'When I heard your history and the problem I took a liberty and assumed you might require my services. Although I could be wrong. May I?' He walked around the table and bent down to make eye contact with Lily. She stretched out her arms to be held.

After receiving the nod of approval from them both, he picked her up very gently. He took a step, then stopped. 'Have I upset you honey?' On the contrary, she seemed fairly content to be around him, more so than she usually was with strangers. Yet, over his shoulder her eyes were on her parents. They stood and followed them over to a little table in the corner. He set her down and she remained upright, She had only been able to do so in the last while.

He seemed satisfied with this, but moved on. Her legs were his main concern; their flexibility. He moved her about like she was a rag doll. She seemed to have no problem with it; only that it threw her posture off balance. That was, until he moved each singularly. Or tried. It wasn't going to plan. He showed no sign that this was out of the ordinary. Instead he went to a cupboard, taking out something similar to a hammer.

There was a bang as it shot out of his hand and into Ginny's. Dr Thorne was taken aback, although his eyes swivelled immediately to Lily.

'Do that again,' he ordered. _Do what? Prevent him from maiming. This _thing _looked just like something her Dad was use when trying to show off his Muggle handiwork. Next thing he'd be sticking a screwdriver in her ear and wiggling it about! _

'Do what?' She had to fight to keep her voice level.

'The noise.' He did not seem shocked at her reaction. His eyes were once again fixed on Lily. Reluctantly Ginny did as she was told. Sadly, it was just the noise. No damage was done to the hammer thing or the doctor. The sound however, was not well received by her little girl. It caused her to jump, as though struck by lightning.

'That's normal. I'm not going to hurt her I promise. So can I have that back please?' Ginny grudgingly handed it over and backed away. She watched as it was used on Lily. She made no real sound, but it struck a chord. The part of her leg below the right knee, which had been struck, swung back and forth like a pendulum. Dr Thorne simply nodded, as though expecting it.

Thankfully, he then put it away. He picked Lily up again and set her feet upon the table, in a standing position, which was for her more of a crouch. It was like she had no control over what her legs were doing. It looked like they'd been hit with a Jelly- legs curse.

He set her down again and to examine her fingers. She was rather compliant, well able to move them.

'Do you see that there?' He pointed at a sheet of laminate stuck to a notice board. 'Just point at Lily and say _cerebrum __Revelio, _then just flick your wand at the sheet.' Doubtful it was going to work and feeling, extremely stupid Harry did it. A brain scan appeared on there.

'Brilliant. Now, just freeze her. It will be a whole lot easier.' Doing it was the hardest things Harry ever had to do. When she 'frozen' all he could see were her little brown eyes, usually so trusting looking up at him in confusion. _Why are you doing this me?_

When asked, he swept the wad over the various parts of her head. I_t _was done silently. They were watching their daughter, the doctor was watching the screen. When he turned back to them his expression was grave.

_There was no denying it now. _

His voice was level, his face showed no hint of emotion. He had done this many times.

' I'm sorry to tell you, your daughter has cerebral palsy.'

Those two little words, for such a little person. They meant nothing to either of the Potters. As yet, they were unaware of just how much those words would come to mean for them over time. For their daughter.

'She sustained brain to her grey matter shortly after birth. The area that controls motor function. It is to that area in which the damage is most extensive. This type of damage is consistent with those who didn't hemorrhage at birth. I would attribute her prematurity and the somewhat troubled birth to this. '

Harry felt as though his own brain was paralysed. It took a minute before he regained full of his limbs. When he did, he stumbled back to Lily and removed the charm. Discovering she could once again use her arms, she stretched them out to him. He picked her up and held her like he would never let her go.

Ginny was still staring at the man blankly. It took Harry's hand on her shoulder to realise that it was real.

'What does that mean:?' Even before he answered, her eyes were filling with tears. Harry highly doubted that his answer would be of much comfort. He was right.

'She won't be like other children. She may never walk.' There was a pause, the eyebrows of the doctor were knitted together in concentration as his gaze returned to the scans.

_There was more_. Harry knew it, even as the doctor struggled to phrase what he had to say next.

'Do you mind me asking if you are aware of the origins of magic?'

'I thought there wasn't one...' Ginny was perplexed. _If there was, why should this guy know?_

'Well, my colleagues and I have a lot of research into it. Dr. Brown in particular. Do you have any knowledge of cell division?'

He stopped, then sensing he wasn't going to get a response- went on. 'Meiosis is the type of used in sexual reproduction. It means that sperm and egg have half the number of chromosomes that a normal cell would. They combine to allow the normal number of chromosomes, Magic defies this logic in that, instead of there being two magical chromosomes in a wizard there is one. This doesn't differ even if their parents come from the longest line of _purebloods is it? _Possible.

'No mistake. Meiosis is at work, but also magic is. Those in the medical field refer to it as spontaneous generation. Although this is really only true in the case of Muggle Borns. For Muggles, having an extra chromosome is known as having Down Syndrome. This disability does not exist within the magical community. A wizard will not have an extra chromosome if it isn't magical.'

'There is also a condition in the Muggle world, linked with having a chromosome less rather than having an extra one. A wizard not having the usual amount of chromosomes results in a distinct lacking of magical ability. A Muggle. A Squib.

He paused and surveyed the confused parents in front of him. 'But a neurologist, so what does this have to do with Lily? You see, chromosomes are threads of DNA responsible for the carrying of genes. These contain codes for the formation of protein. I presume you're aware that the human brain, in most humans is only functioning at 40% capacity?

Their eyes were vacant, but he ploughed on.

'Well, the protein formed allows for the further development of certain areas of the brain. Firstly, the area dedicated to regulation of the body. Like heartbeat. The things we have no control over. Over time, neurons develop and pathways too. These pass from the magical gene to that area of the brain. Therefore magic, becomes something which while making its presence more felt over time, is something we have no control over.

'It often runs in time with the heartbeat. When a young wizarding child is excited or scared it will usually result in the performing of magic. Then, from the age of 11-17 as a child is gave a wand with which to channel their magic and training, it becomes something attributed to the higher area of the brain, as further nerve pathways are formed. Something which can be called upon at will. '

'I've been told that often, like Muggles, wizards after suffering a traumatic incident or damage to the brain, have difficulty calling upon the use of the area of the brain reserved for magic. I've spoken about the neuron pathways formed between the two areas of existence and of control. A recent study we performed showed that upon inspection the pathway formed between these areas, varies for each wizard.'

'I've been told there is a certain connection between speech, movement and magic. Some wizards are more reliant on these than others. More gifted wizards have been known to find non-verbal spell casting easier.'

'My question however consists of whether Lily will have magic at all. As my daughter told me recently, her hu

sband studied wandlore, the wand chooses the wizard. In the same way, I and my colleagues here have come to believe that the magic is also selective.'

'Lily has enough to deal with. The stiffness- spasticity- in her lower limbs, is something constant over which she has no control. It will worsen when she is frightened or tense, but will always be there. The stiffness will mean little control over limbs.'

'Having magic, and being able to exert minimal control over it using speech and movement and intellectual ability, would be of no use to anyone. The brain, being a great organ is most likely already aware of this. So, despite not having the gene, it is extremely unlikely Lily will be a witch

'I'm sorry but for the love of God, would you please shut up? You talk about it like you have this _Cerebral Palsy, _like you're a wizard. Like you understand! Just stop talking about the things she's not going to have and start talking about how you can help her. With magic.'

'Well, you must understand M. Potter that we often don't get many witches or wizards with Cerebral Palsy. Any at all really. You see the percentage of people with cerebral palsy in the Muggle population is so small. Combine that with the tiny number of people in the world with magical abilities and the miniscule number of complications in wizarding births... You can see why it's so rare.'

'I can see that there's one in front of you.'

'You wizards have spells for repairing things do you not?

Harry snorted in disbelief.

'So you want to use a mending charm on my daughter's brain? Excuse me Doctor, but before you do that I think you should get your own checked. As he spoke, they were on their feet. Ginny finally appeared to have gotten a grasp on what was going on. They gripped hands and disapparated with a pop.

They arrived a moment later in their kitchen. They hadn't splinched, but all the colour had drained from her face. She sank to her knees. Lily, used to going side- along was fairly okay. Harry set her down on the kitchen table. After that, he no longer felt the need to remain upright. Clutching the table momentarily until he managed to pull out a chair and sink into it. Head in hands,

Sweat made it difficult for him to grip his wand, and his hands shook as he conjured a chair for Ginny. She had not spoken since Dr. Thorne enlightened them about the origins of magic.

When Harry spoke his voice was a mere croak. 'Can you image them _repairing _her brain. It would work alright, no doubt. Too well. That doctor would have no control over it. It would extend to all negative aspects of her brain function. Her stubbornness, her decisiveness, the fact she doesn't like turnip.'

He paused, taking a deep shuddering breath before continuing. When he looked up his eyes were filled with rage. 'They were talking about her like _she _was a vegetable!I mean Merlin's beard. I'll do anything for her. Not the person that idiot of a doctor thinks she should be. I can't let them take her away her personality. Not when she's lost so much already..'

He looked across at his wife for confirmation. She seemed to be waking from a deep sleep, her eyes though still filled with tears had a glint of determination in them.

'I believe there is a God. I don't know why, but some _being _was given the right to decide who lives, who dies and what sort of person they live to be. Magic says we have a choice, God dictates we have none. If we try and fix this, we destroy Lily. It would be pointless.'

'If ain't broke don't fix it. She's not broken. She's just Lily. I don't care about magic, or even walking. We'll be her legs. They're not important. Not half as much as she is.'

Then, Ginny locked eyes with Harry, still filled with sorrow. She knew. _There was more. _There was more to holding it together than physical strength or personal determination. They were not all that was necessary to keep your head in times of crisis.

There was more to life than magic, physical strength or determination. There was only so much, they as parents could do. As Ginny finally understood, all the light drained from her eyes, knowing that some things, when lost could not be replaced.


	6. Making Amends

There was no escaping it. They had to go back. No matter how much they despised the thought of it. They now knew for sure what was wrong. They had always known in their hearts they couldn't fix it alone. When Ginny woke up that morning, her immediate instinct was to snuggle back down ad return to dreamland. _To pretend it was just a nightmare. _

A nightmare which it seemed was destined to repeat itself. Today, they had to go and do it all again.

They had decided last night, that the best thing to do was to go back. They weren't healers, or doctors- just parents. Harry had overreacted, she had been numb. They would try again, now that the first words had sunk in better.

As the sun set Harry paced the house. Running his hands through his hair. He paced in circles though. Truly, their minds were made up. They would return, apologise, sit down and listen properly like they should have in the first place. This time it would be easier. Without the shock clouding their common sense. They would leave all things of a medical nature in the hands of Doctor Thorne, listen, or at least try.

As night fell, they got ready to leave. Rather than go through the hassle of Flooing they simply chose to apparate. Going back in the same way they came out. Only this time he was expecting them.

He was already seated when they arrived, but he rose to greet them. Ginny spoke first. 'I'm sorry about our behaviour yesterday. We were shocked to say the least. Pushed things a bit too far too fast. Perhaps we took you up wrong...'

'I think so. But I can hardly blame you. I didn't handle it all that well either. I've been doing this a fair while, dealt with many patients, with lots of different conditions. I've had people- parents and suffers alike, swearing, throwing things, storming out. Your reaction was no different to most parents. It's just that most parents of kids with CP are Muggles. They don't disappear altogether.'

They sat down heavily. Neither of them had any plans to go anywhere this time. He went through it again. Pausing at intervals so they could question him. This time it seemed to make much more sense. Their eyes were no longer vacant, but were serious as they took in what he had to say. Properly.

After what felt like hours, they had a clearer picture of what was going on.

'As I've said before the damage is confined to one area. That which controls motor function.'

A look of relief crossed Ginny's face. For once she was glad Harry had been wrong in his thinking.

The doctor cleared his throat. 'I think when you left yesterday, you may have been under the impression that we wouldn't be able to treat your daughter's condition without altering her personality. Medicine- even that of Muggles- is not so primitive for that to be the case. It is general practice to only apply medicine to the area of the body which is ill. If it were, I would have told you. I do not leave patients in the dark. Although to be fair, the patients don't usually leave in such a manner as you did.'

'So you can heal her?' Harry was sceptical. _Just like that?_

'I presume so, I have never done it but that isn't to say it can't be done. However, I make no guarantees. As I've said, any damage from birth would most likely result in the brain simply ignoring the magical gene. Magic may repair the part of her brain dedicated to motor function. However, I doubt that magic will be enough to force the gene to activate, seeing as it was shut off as a preventative measure.'

'Witch or not, even with her personality intact I'd like to know is it really necessary? The damage is of the brain, affecting her lower limbs. Couldn't you just use magic to manage her symptoms? The 'tone' she has?'

'Regardless of whether we manage symptoms, eradicate the root problem, with or without magic, it's not going to be done today. As you know, I don't diagnose without being certain. I don't treat without fully informing parents or indeed being fully informed myself. A diagnosis does not make a particular quality of life a certainty. I treat based on quality of life and consequences. Neither of which I'm sure of at this point.

'So- we wait?'

It seemed an odd prospect for them to have waited with baited breath for her to walk, only to be disappointed. Then they had put off involving anyone for a time in hope. Eventually they got a diagnosis. What followed was a lot of confusion and uncertainty. Now, the haze of shock had lifted and things seemed a little clearer. Yet, now they were asked to wait?

He shook his head. 'CP is not a progressive condition. Her brain damage would not worsen if left alone. However some form of treatment will always have a helping hand in determining the quality of life of someone with a disability. A quality of life taken into account when weighing up the consequences of further actions.'

Thankfully, they appeared on the same page. Lily. That was the number one priority of everyone sitting in the room.

'There is one treatment prescribed to any person with Cerebral Palsy. Regardless of age, severity or indeed the fact their parents are magical. As part of this form of treatment they have what is called early intervention. It will make clearer not the extent of the damage- which is as I have told you- but the affect it will have on Lily and how she will cope. It's not considered a drastic form of treatment, but one which works well throughout the lifetime. Hence, it is generally prescribed.'

That was all he said on the subject of treatment. For a little while they continued to discuss the damage and the general prospects as a result of it. Then, he stopped more conscious of the possibility of information than he was before. They would have been happy to sit there and talk until the sun came up, but this time he dismissed them.

'I will have a letter sent to you using your postal service when I've acquired more information on early intervention for Lily.'

'Sir, what are the people who administer the treatment?' _She was still unused to calling 'doctor' rather than healer._

'Muggles call them physical therapists.'

The conversation seemed to have come to a natural end. They rose to go. He cleared his throat before making one last point. 'This is Muggle in me talking of course but I was never inclined to believe that Cerebral Palsy could only be managed or cured by one treatment alone. Or indeed by one person.'

'The general rule of thumb at this stage is a visit in person every 6 months. We will correspond over getting things set up for her. But don't be afraid to drop me a line anytime. I've come to know that magic post finds you without an address. You may have thought you had a lot of questions today, you'll have a lot more tomorrow and most days afterwards. I might not be able to answer them all right now, but I can try.'

When they went home, they did try. Despite original hopes and fears, their little girl was staying exactly as she was. The finality of things, at least for now, was both a curse and a blessing. It meant their next move was inevitable. They had to tell the family.


	7. Going Over the Edge

The next morning Ginny decided to send her Patronus to the Burrow and to invite her mother and father over later in the evening. It was then to go to George and Angelina's place. Harry would see Percy and at the Ministry at some point during the day. She would invite Bill and Ron personally.

She had a fair idea exactly how her mother was going to take it. Not the actual news, but the news that there was going to be a family gathering anywhere besides the Burrow. However, they had talked it over. She was not bringing such a dark shadow to the door of her family home. It had been decided. Her mother was just going to have to get used to not being able to control everything. Just like she was.

She couldn't help but feel a little guilty though. Considering what had happened the day before yesterday. They had thought it over and decided it wouldn't be a good idea to bring James and Albus to the hospital with them. Whenever something like that came up they usually spent the day at the Burrow. Not that it did all that often. Come to think of it, the last time they went there for an afternoon without us was before Lily was born. _ That probably had something to do with Al's reaction... _Whatever the reason he had point blank refused to go into the house. Throwing a temper tantrum reminiscent of a time they had thought was past.

Neither of them had the energy to fight with him. So despite the knock it gave Molly Weasley's ego, they left. This soothed him slightly, although he still refused to stay with James. Not in so many words, but in tears. James for once didn't say a single word about it. It was during these rare times that Ginny was glad to have so many relatives. It was decided that Albus would spend the night with his Godparents and James with his.

When they left, he managed to give them a watery smile. He loved Shell Cottage and everyone in it. James did not make a fuss either. Ginny pondered how they had taken the news they would be spending the night. Obviously it hadn't been the plan, but then neither had the diagnosis. It had been too late by the time they got back to the home. Too late to go calling and bring the boys back with them. to go to the bother of waking up a whole house. It would only arouse suspicion. Neither of the Weasleys knew the reason behind their surprise guests. Yet, they did not object to their company, rather welcoming them wholeheartedly. Ginny was glad of it.

As she stepped from the fire in the kitchen, her eyes swivelled to the kitchen table. Seated there were Fleur and her two eldest nieces. She could tell from reams of parchment and ink pots on the table that she had walked on a French lesson.

It did not occur to any of them to switch languages simply because a visitor had arrived. Somehow she managed to understand what they were saying. The boys were at the beach with Bill and would be back in a couple of minutes. Yet she couldn't resist going to find them Owing to the fact her mediocre French would not withstand even a 10 minute conversation with even the younger of the two girls. She was just about to slip out into the hall, when Fleur put a hand on her shoulder. A look passed between them. 'Ees something ze matter?'

At that moment Ginny really regretted the fact that her brother married a French part Veela. _Why does she have to be so damn perfect all the time? _ In comparison to her Ginny felt like a dishevelled little girl, she hadn't seen either of her sons in almost 48 hours, while Fleur had time to spend hours with her family, conversing in her mother tongue. She had seeming mysterious and aloof nature down to an art. _Whereas she just looks at me and she knows there's something 'the matter?' _

_Why do some people have such perfect lives? _Ginny wondered this as she sat down. She had no energy this morning. It all went into trying not to cry. A cup of tea was pressed into her hand, with the other she cradled Lily who seemed no worse for wear from her ordeal the other day. She was alert, watching her cousins with interest.

There was something of a commotion at the front door. Then, her youngest son bounded into the kitchen, wrapping his arms around her legs. She had just enough warning time to put aside the cup. It was cold anyway. Only the dregs were left. She had been gazing into them. Though she had never taken divination and wouldn't have admitted it to anybody, she was trying to see the future.

She didn't have long to dwell though. Albus had her in python grip. His voice was somewhat muffled as he greeted them. Ginny gave a nod to Fleur who took Lily from her perch on her lap. She picked up Albus, cradled him to her. Within seconds he was wailing into her chest. His body seemed frail, heaving with sobs. There was nothing she could do except rub his back, making soothing sounds to try and calm him down.

Over the top of his head, she could make out Bill looking slightly taken aback at the scene before him. His eyes posed a thousand questions. Firstly as they fell on Albus, who had showed no signs of upset until he laid eyes on Ginny. Then on his sister who wasn't crying but seemed to be feeling along the same lines as her son. It was not a pretty sight. Louis wasn't the only confused one. Unlike the adults he was not silent in his thinking. Victoire took charge of things and ushered her siblings into the sitting room. Bill and Fleur were left to pick up the pieces. There wasn't much they could do however, Albus was almost inconsolable.

It took a long while before he had calmed down enough to talk without hiccupping. 'I want to go home Mummy.'

'I know honey.' They made their way back over to the fireplace. It was a given that she would be back for Lily as soon as her hands were free. Albus was not willing to let go of her and now didn't seem the time to bring up the other reason she had come to Shell Cottage.

A weight lifted off her chest when she stepped out of the fireplace at Ron's place. She was pleased to see James was his usual self. Happily being chased around the table by his Uncle Ron. Then Rose popped out from under the table like a wind-up toy. Ron screamed like she was a giant spider. Ginny couldn't help but smile, as she saw them capering about. Hermione explained. 'They're playing aurors.'

This made sense, however it was still laughable that Ron preferred to play the game rather than go into work and be one. As though sensing her misgivings Ron chose that moment to call a halt to the shenanigans. He flicked his hair out of his eyes and smirked at her. ' I know, I know, but I can hardly get into trouble with the head of the Department for looking after his son now can I?'

'I thought it was Rosie doing the looking after?' As every member of the Weasley clan knew her latest ambition was to be a Healer.

'Fighting dark wizards and healing them too? That must take some multi-tasking.' In answer to Hermione's unspoken question as with regard to Lily's whereabouts, she murmured 'Two hands, three kids. Bill and Fleur are watching her for a couple of minutes.'

'She could give you a couple of lessons then. Or maybe me.' As if to prove his point he high-fived James while ruffling Hugo's hair. A quick hug from Rosie and he was on his way to the fireplace.

I'd better go- someone of us have _real _jobs to do.' Hermione rolled her eyes. Then, seemingly to annoy her further, he doubled back, swooped down and kissed her. 'Like you- good luck with the hearing.' Changing his mind, he disappeared with a crack.

'It doesn't start until later, Rose and Hugo are going to spend some time with Mum.'

'What would we do if we didn't have such big families?'

'Not want to pull our hair out perhaps?'

That phrase was not one which sprung to mind when one thought of Hermione's parents. 'I think that's just a Weasley thing. Speaking of which, I'm inviting everyone over for dinner tonight. I want to talk to you guys about something important.' She cut her sister-in-law off. 'Tonight 8pm, our place.' They accepted. Ginny loved her family. Hermione had really loosened up over the last few years. They all got on well, always joking. For now anyway. Talking to them always put her in better spirits. But then again they didn't know what got her down in the first place.

Then she busied herself with rounding up her troops. Being around his cousins always cheered Albus up, his earlier episode forgotten, he was dashing about the same as the others. Finally they arrived back at the house. Making sure they were settled she returned to Shell Cottage.

Fleur was entertaining Lily while supervising the girls as they washed the dishes. Louis was seated at the kitchen, the spoils of their earlier walk spread out around him like a pirate counting his gold. He seemed concerned about his cousin's outburst. Ginny reassured he was okay and that he would be in the mood to play later on. She invited them over, took Lily in her arms and left as quickly as she could. Unlike Hermione Fleur had seen the cracks in her exterior. She was worried what she might say if she stayed too long. They weren't ready to tell yet.

One job done, she kept going. She had to, otherwise everything would fall apart. She continued to operate on auto-pilot all afternoon. It was 7.30 before she got a break. Wiping her hands on a dishcloth she turned her attention to Harry. Looking at him for the first time since he had come home. She found the courage to tell him about Albus. There were tears in her eyes as she admitted what had been bothering her all day.

'It's not just about us. It's not even just about Lily. How is this going to affect the entire family? Our son is beside himself with worry and he didn't even know we went to the hospital.'

Harry thought before answering her. 'He's a sensitive kid, but he's a kid all the same, resilience is his middle name. Change is a good thing. At least we know now. At least she can get the help she needs.'

He gave her hug before moving out into the hall. There was nothing any of them could do about this, He would rather focus on other things.

What had been a distraction earlier in the day was now more of a worry. _How the hell were they going to do this? _Telling them would be like acting as Dr. Thorne had, only worse. Her family knew nothing. They expected nothing more than a light-hearted evening. It broke her heart that there had to be an occasion for anything else. At that precise moment the bell rang and there was a commotion in the living room. 'Fred!'

For a moment Ginny's heart left and she half-expected to see her elder brother jump out from behind the door. In that moment the pain of losing him reared its ugly head. However she steeled herself against the tears which threatened to fall. _Don't cry for the living Ginny, cry for the dead. _That sounded just like something he would say.

Then, his cheeky voice interrupted her thoughts. _No I wouldn't! What's the use in crying? If you're laughing at least it helps support the family business. You support them; they'll support you. That's what families are for. _She saw George and waved.

James had greeted his cousin with gusto. Seconds later they rushed out of there and thundered up the stairs. Minutes later Louis followed. When everybody had arrived they congregated in the kitchen. Her mother was the first to speak. 'So what's this all about? _You _organise a dinner party, you send a Patronus with an invite. You didn't even say if there was something you wanted me to bring!' She looked out of place in their kitchen. More disorientated than anything else. She did not like being kept in the dark.

'I was too busy organising it to invite you in-person. Hence there's plenty of food. I cooked so you wouldn't have to!' _I had to be in control of _something _tonight._ Seemingly satisfied for at least a while, Molly smiled at her daughter and turned her attention to Percy and his recent promotion.

Hopefully she would be too busy tonight to sit down to an interrogation. Hopefully she would be run off her feet enough that a moment wouldn't present itself when she could stop and think, _really _think about the reason they had called her family here. Hopefully they could just get it over with. Then she would feel better.

That dreaded time of night had come. The kids to sleep. The house was quiet, almost too quiet. It was George who spoke up, although it only added to the tension in the room. 'So Mrs Potter what is this big 'announcement' you have to make? Another new arrival perhaps? The Muggles have a song about three being a magic number, but we all know it's really seven!'

Ginny just looked at him. That sweet boyish grin plastered all over his face. Waiting for her answer. Harry shot her a worried glance as if to say _what way did you phrase the invite? _She mentally smacked herself on the forehead. _She did not mean it to sound like that. But what else was she supposed to say? They had to have _some_ warning that a bombshell was going to be dropped that evening. _

With all the thoughts floating around in her head it simply hadn't occurred to her that the last time one of her family had said 'I need to talk to you about something,' which hadn't been a move,, or an engagement or a baby, was when Ron announced to his parents he was running off around the countryside to hunt for Horcruxes with her boyfriend.

She couldn't help but cry to think that now they ad an occasion for anything but happiness in their lives

Her tears set everyone else off. Ron was almost speechless.

'Blimey Ginny are you- were you- did you-?'

Each time Ron couldn't quite finish the sentence. Twice from shock and once because Hermione elbowed him hard in the ribs. Everyone else was waiting for either of the Potters to speak. Thankfully Bill took charge of the situation. 'What Ginny's trying to say is that she's got her hands full. What was it you said earlier? Two hands three kids I think it was.' This explanation hinged on Ginny thinking having another child was a laughing matter. Yet, anyone with who wasn't blind could plainly see that her tears were not the sort brought on by a hilarious joke.

They were indeed the sort brought on by loss. The shattering of the dreams which had begun to build as soon they brought Lily home from the hospital, believing that their nightmare was over. That they could get on with their normal, everyday lives. On top of the world, one moment, having no idea that it would all be snatched from you when you least expected it. She never thought anyone would think such a thing had happened. She had never thought about it like that. Yet in a way that's what it was.

All traces of humour were wiped from George's face. His visage had taken on a haggard look, reminiscent of the way it had been in the first year following Fred's death. He looked older than his years. As though he had felt pain, experienced loss. At that moment his face was lined with worry that had caused one of his family pain. Pain caused by reminding them of their loss. But they didn't need reminding. They felt it every time they picked up Lily and would as long as they were needed to carry her rather than hold her hand.

'Would somebody please tell me what's going on?' At the sound of his voice Audrey whipped around her head and spoke sharply to him.

'I know you only have half an ear and as I understand it patience was never your strong point, but could you try and listen?' It was this that dragged Ginny from her pit of despair. Leave it to her to get them on track. Like it was a Ministry meeting or something. Yet, for once Ginny was glad someone had shut George up. Harry who up until that point had been silently comforting Ginny, took it as his cue to say something. But he had to, so he just went for it. 'Half right George'

'So someone's dead?' Ron seemed hell-bent on filling the silence just for something to do rather than wring his hands, staring over at his best friend, who wasn't quite meeting his eyes.

'No, but she could have, so that's a good way of looking at it. What I mean was, we wanted to talk about one of our kids. It's Lily.'

Mrs Weasley gasped. 'Is she okay?' Arthur's voice was hardly higher than a whisper.

'Again, no.' Harry's answer was blunt, but the words still cut like a knife.

Ginny spoke up, clinging to the things she knew for certain. 'As you all know, for some time now we've noticed that she's been missing out on some of her milestones. We took her to the hospital. A doctor there diagnosed her with Cerebral Palsy Spastic Diplegia.'

Hermione was the first to react. She had some grasp of what was going on. 'Cerebral Palsy? The neurological condition? I didn't think witches were affected by it.'

Harry looked her directly in the eye. 'She may not be a witch Hermione.'

Looking back that possibly wasn't the best thing to open with. But they had to start somewhere. The told them everything. The signs, the appointment, the doctor, the diagnosis, the prognosis, walking out, coming back, the treatment options. Somehow it felt good to say them aloud. It made it all seem more real.

When all was said and done that night- well it was the wee hours of the morning by the time everyone went to bed, it was Ron who spoke the greatest words of comfort.

'No cure in the Muggle world? They don't have plans or ideas on how to treat it with magic just yet? So she's stuck with it?'

Ginny nodded miserably.

'Well okay the, remember she's stuck with us too. Walking or not, witch or not she's a Weasley.'

Everyone swore they wouldn't breathe a word to the kids until later. They did not want to tell her them without Teddy being there. He was coming home for the holidays. It seemed stupid to send him an owl. He wouldn't understand. They would break it too him gently when he came to spend time with them. This did not involve James blurting it out, as they knew he would. So, none of them knew just yet. Not that it mattered that much. To them, she was still a baby. Upon learning that everyone did things at different paces, they did not question the fact that she did not walk. As far as they were concerned it was of no consequence to them. She was too young to play with them yet anyway.

It seemed that Christmas was just around the corner. Harry went with Andromeda to collect Teddy from King's Cross. He got the reaction when he arrived at the door. His hair had turned snow white to match the lightly falling snow which dusted his travelling cloak. His nose was long, his rather beady eyes a piercing blue. His skin too was tinged blue, but from the cold. When Ginny hugged him his hair turned the signature Weasley colour. When she released him his cheeks were pink. He was glad to be back, although trying not to show it. He assured them he did love Hogwarts, but it was nice to come home for the holidays. They couldn't agree more.

The two of them left much later. In fact, it must have been around midnight. He regaled them all with tales of what life at Hogwarts was like these days. In ways, when Harry found a permanent home among the Weasleys, he lost touch with the school. However this wasn't due to last much longer. Neville was replacing Professor Sprout as Hogwarts Herbology next year. They kept in regular contact and would get all the news from him It pleased Teddy to discover there would be a familiar face in the halls of Hogwarts. By then he hoped to have found his feet more. Upon admitting this to them, Harry chuckled though not unkindly. 'Even in 7th year you're still discovering new things. It's a school full of surprises.'

'Even when there's familiar faces a plenty, there'll be lots of them. Can you imagine the trouble James would cause?' They could only too well. Andromeda was right. It was somewhat frightening. They were glad the time for him to attend was still far-off.

'I suppose Albus will be left to redeem the family name.' He was a well-mannered boy; even at such a young age. There was no mention of Lily. Whether Lily would go to Hogwarts was entirely unknown. Andromeda was aware of this. Teddy didn't comment on the fact that she wasn't mentioned. He was a little too drowsy by then. Sensing this, Andromeda roused him and they made their way to the fireplace. Harry wished them well and told Teddy to enjoy his well-earned rest in the morning. He nodded to Andromena over his Godson's head. His meaning was clear. To stay away from the house for the morning. That was when they planned to tell James and Albus.

In the morning James was rather disappointed that he didn't see Teddy waiting for him when he came down for breakfast. None the less, he had Albus to play with. Only two people were necessary for a snowball fight. He did go out and play, but Albus did not go with him. As soon as the breakfast things were cleared away, they took him into the sitting room. Harry was watching James' attempt at a snowman from the window. Albus was bewildered as to why he couldn't join him.

They had decided that although it would be harder to say the same thing twice, it was for the best to tell them separately. They would react differently after all. Although Albus seemed to regard the fact that James was outdoors and he inside, a punishment. 'Have I been bad Daddy?'

Harry shook his head. This raised the edges of his son's mouth up in relief. It pained him to watch it fall again as they told him a few minutes later. It was a fairly simplified version; more so than they were to give James later on. The basic facts were there though; yet it did not make things any easier. For a few minutes he struggled visibly to understand,. Then he beamed at them; as though he had the answer to all their problems. Indeed, in his mind he did.

'I can ask Santa to fix her The elves can build her a new set of legs in the workshop!'

'Honey, as I recall you already sent your letter. Anyway Santa doesn't make those kind of presents.' Ginny reiterated very gently that magic couldn't fix everything. They had decided not to mention to Albus the possibility of a cure of some point in the future. There was no sign of now, and they were getting through one day at a time.

'Okay.' He slid off the sofa and it wasn't long before they heard him moving about upstairs. The Potters sighed. There was no point going after him. It would take some time before he got a firm grasp on what was going on. He did not shed a single tear, but it was obvious he was confused. However, they felt it best to leave it sink in. Overwhelming him with information wouldn't help matters.

After taking a deep breath they called James in from outside. He slid off his boots and padded into the sitting room in his socks. Sitting down in the exact spot his brother had been half an hour before. Telling him was no easier. It never got easier. Albus hadn't reacted as they thought he might, and neither did James. After that day Harry and Ginny never underestimated their children again. James sat very still as he took in what was being said. He too had a solution to all their troubles.

'Why doesn't she ask Santa for a broom for Christmas? She wouldn't need to walk if she could fly.' His logic was so simple it warmed their hearts.

Harry explained this time. 'Son, I think she's a bit young for that, but it's a good idea.' He did not mention that it was very probable Lily would never cast a spell, let alone ride a broomstick. They needed him to know that his little sister was still the same as him, no matter what. They needed to believe it themselves.

Then, the time came to tell Teddy. Andromeda popped in to look after the boys. They would give her no trouble. James in particular had been unnaturally quiet since they broke the news. They brought Lily with them. Upon seeing his Godfather, Teddy's hair turned jet black. He reached down to pick up a rucksack from the floor, seemingly ready to go with them back to the house. They explained that they wanted to talk to him.

They had considered explaining to Victoire at the same time, so she could be there for Teddy, although they had eventually dismissed the idea. They were bound to be shy around each other after so long apart. The two years of an age difference, seeming so much more now that Teddy was at Hogwarts. Yet, he was still a little boy. That much was obvious from the look of sheer panic on his face.

He was old enough to be given a more detailed description of Lily's condition. They also didn't have to explain to him that magic couldn't fix everything. He understood it far too well already. That much was obvious when his hair colour changed to an exact replica of his father's. Which Harry knew for a fact he had seen in the his parents' wedding pictures. At which point his dad's hair was already flecked with grey, his face lined with worry.

After all his questions had been answered they sat in silence for a long time. At length Teddy murmured. 'At least she has you. You're great parents.'

That was to be Lily's building block. Their dreams were shattered, but they would make it their mission to teach her to dream for herself. Spur her on to hope for better things. Support her in achieving them. Whatever they were, whatever it took.

**A/N: I do think wizards would have Santa. After all he does come down a fireplace! Thanks for all your support so far, I'd love to know what you think. **

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	8. No Matter What

'Harry, can I talk to you please?'

He shrugged, rinsed out his coffee cup before turning away from the sink, giving her his full attention. He knew what was coming before she even said it. He had been expecting it for the last little while. But he let her say it anyway, just for the pleasure of hearing her say it. He was still in shock. He was never going to get over it. He never wanted to. No matter how simple, how ordinary a thing it was, no matter how many children world over did it year out, he was never going to allow himself forgot how close she'd coming to _not_ doing it.

'Wipe that stupid smile off your face Harry, we have to think about this!' Despite his earlier promise he paid her no heed. Instead he went next door to where Lily was playing. His main concern at that time was making sure his daughter had as much fun as possible. After all, her Tuesday mid-mornings spent playing in the front room were limited. Next year would roll around quickly. She would begin her education then.

Where exactly was the question Ginny suggested they think about. He was just so glad that it was a question that he couldn't bring himself to answer it. Diagnosing her as a baby, Dr. Thorne had told them there appeared to be no damage to the part of her brain dedicated to higher processes for things like memory. This would mean that her IQ would be normal.

_Normal. _

Such a thing was extremely hard to believe, considering the prognosis for other areas of her development was none too good. Even though it had been drummed into them to this day that the damage was specifically to the area controlling motor function, he did not place much faith in the prediction. As she grew, her physical disability revealed itself further. They were grateful she was spared any more hardship; a chatterbox from a young age and was bright as a button to boot

She was fully aware of her difficulties. It broke his heart that she had no physical for the frustration that fast becoming part of her daily life. She James lost his temper, he was prone to hopping on his broom. He never went too far, rather circling high above like an eagle honing in on its prey. It didn't matter how far away he went, or even how high. Lily could not see him from the confines of the house, nor join him as Albus often did. She was trapped, with no view to escape.

She understood so much of the world around her, was curious about that which she did not know. She was all too aware that her legs didn't work right, living with them ensured it. She understood why. They had told her of course. She knew what happened to her. She knew that everyone was different in their own way. Everybody involved had tried to explain.

The real question she had was about the fairness of it all. There was no answer. For one so full of questions to learn so early on that there wasn't an answer for them all? What it would do to her worried them. She asked a thousand other questions and they took care to answer them all. It was the best they could do.

They were half-right about the effect it would have on her physiological well-being. She was something of a sombre 4 year old. She played and she sang and she laughed of course. She interchanged between being a dragon-keeper and a curse breaker, and an auror depending on her mood. However, unlike Rose she thought being a healer was a worthless profession. As Ginny put it if you weren't the healer you were the healed. And she hadn't been healed, so she had every right to feel the way she did.

She played these games with the utmost seriousness. To her, they weren't figments of her imagination. She was preparing for her future job. To her, walking the streets of Diagon Alley was a game. It certainly seemed like one in her eyes. All those people cooing, talking gibberish to her like she was a tiny baby. When out and about, they had a game they played. It involved seeing how little she could say to them before they moved on. The quieter she stayed the better. It was what they wanted; to believe that she was mute as well as unable to hear them. Simply to be put on display and gawked at like a creature in a zoo

It wasn't like she couldn't talk back. Far from it. It was just she had a lot more common sense than these people did. She knew it was wrong to stare. She had her head screwed on better than them all. To put in plainly, if they didn't have the decency to speak to her when she was right there, like any other kid then it wasn't worth her while knowing them. They talked 'baby talk' at her. They directed any other questions at himself or Ginny. Even though she was well able to answer them herself. Despite himself, Harry's hands couldn't help but itch for his wand when they met strangers on the street. Once Lily, who was in his arms, noticed this. When the person –an elderly Muggle- was gone, she whispered.

'Daddy I'm glad you didn't do it.'

'Do what?' At that point he wasn't exactly sure what she was talking about.

'Put a spell on her.'

'Lily! I would never ever do that.'

Her face was serious when next she spoke. 'Tell me why.' The way in which she looked at him reminded him of Ginny, when she was asking the reasons behind James' behaviour.

By that time we had already insisted that you should never perform a spell in the presence of a Muggle unless absolutely necessary. We referred to it as 'the secret.'

'You know why. The secret has to stay a secret.'

'The secret_s _Daddy.'

She giggled and leaned in so close that her breath tickled my ear. 'You're a wizard and they don't know. I'm just like the other kids and they don't it either.'

He hugged her tightly. It shocked him that she referred to herself as a normal kid. An ordinary child. A Muggle, while he was a wizard. At that point, only the family knew what was supposed to happen.

When the time came, everyone would know. Yet, it didn't matter to us. To us she would never be 'ordinary.'

To her family. Those who made no secret of how much they loved her. They thought the world of her. Nothing could change that He couldn't find the words to tell her that was all that mattered. He had always known how those close to him felt about his daughter. How the rest of the world saw her. That was the first day he got an insight into how she saw herself.

That was the day he took a vow. A vow that if he couldn't change how the world saw her, he would change how she saw herself. Magic or no magic, walking or not she wasn't ordinary. She would never be just a Muggle. Or a patient. She was a person and her own one at that. She was his daughter. She was Lily.

In this world to be truly 'ordinary' one had to be extraordinary. Anything less and you were considered disabled. To be ordinary was a curse It seemed that Lily would never be fully accepted by either the Muggle or the Magic world. When they looked at her all they saw was an oddity.

They resented it Resented that so many children had so much. As parents to-be for the third time they thought this would be the case for them too. You never expected anything less. You never allowed yourself to think for a minute that something could be wrong. They had learned to expect nothing. The result was that every day she lived was a gift. Every milestone, no matter how small, no matter how late was appreciated beyond measure.

They would have preferred nothing from society also. Instead they got pity, sympathy and an attempt at understanding from all but a few. In truth, it was them who he pitied. They didn't know what they had. Yet, even he would not wish for them to have away. No one deserved what Lily had to go through. No matter who they were.

In this world, those with physical and intellectual disabilities simply didn't exist. Thanks to modern magical medicine. Or so everyone seemed to think.

Dr. Thorne was doing further research into magical treatment options. They did not see the need to rush him into making the wrong choice. At the moment she was making good progress. Her pain was minimal, although her legs were constantly stiff. They had debated using potions to reduce this. Like Ella- her physical therapist said that Muggles used medication.

He was her father and he would do anything for her. Yet, sometimes doing nothing was just as good. They had settled into a routine. She was young, she needed consistency. Things had remained just as they had been on the day she was diagnosed. They knew the negative side effects would come eventually. When her body started to show signs of its struggle. They had talked about it at length with Dr. Thorne's wife. When the time came to adjust her treatment plan and the right treatment was available, they would feel it in their bones. Just as Lily would, because that was where the side-effects of long-term stiffness presented themselves.

So, things went on as they always had. Now a change was coming down the line, but it was a positive one. She was nearing the age at which she would learn to read and write. Yet the question remained as to where that learning would take place.

When Harry awoke the next morning he had an answer. He just hoped it wouldn't be too hard to convince Ginny. Even if it was, he would do it. He knew in his heart it was for the best.

They had a couple of options, no more than any other Muggle parent had. Not that one of those options was often considered. Like they had been doing with James, they could have her tutored at home. There was a group of witches –mostly Muggle Borns- who made their living teaching the children of witches and wizards English, Maths, Geography and the like. All the things that were needed as a base for them to Hogwarts. Unlike Molly, Ginny didn't teach James herself. Nor did anyone in their family. None of them were stay at home mothers, money was not a problem and they wanted their kids to have a solid education.

This was the option they had chosen for James. They couldn't have sent James to a Muggle Primary School. He was just too chatty; it was too likely that he would let something slip. Though Harry had been educated in a similar place, they didn't think it was the right choice. All of their family had more experience with home-tutoring. It was what Bill and Fleur had done for all of their children, as well as what Percy and Audrey decided to do with Molly.

Then, the time came for Albus' turn. He and James were quite different. Albus was much quieter and a good deal more shy in comparison to his older brother. He needed to be around other kids who weren't family to bring him out of his thought he would fare better than James would've in a Muggle school. So when Hermione said she was sending Rose to her primary school, they leapt at the chance to send Al too.

James was born in '04 like Louis and Molly. They were January and February respectively to his November. So they were in a year further on in their education. James had started learning relatively late by Muggle standards, in order to correspond with the wizarding rule that you had to be 11 years old by September 1st in order to attend Hogwarts. He was solitary in his education. Whereas Albus would have Rose, in his class if he were to go to the Muggle Primary school which Hermione attended. Which meant that he could have Muggle acquaintances, but still had someone to discuss the score of last night's Quidditch league game with. This year would be his second year there. He had grown used to keeping the secret; Rose always reminded him of it. He had settled in and was making progressing with his learning. Harry and Ginny couldn't deny that get a well-rounded education there. Hermione, who had brains to but was testament to what a good start can do to one's future prospects.

To be fair, so was James. In Al's school, they had started to learn a couple of words in French. James too, only he learned it from Fleur. Harry remembered a conversation that had been held between Hermione and Ron over their child's education. As a wizarding family, the Weasleys had talked together about the possibility of their children learning a language more suited to their future occupations. Such as Gobbledegook or even Troll. Upon hearing this, Ron was outraged.

'What use would that do? Troll is just grunts. An idiot could make it up. You physically _can't _learn it. Hermione back me up on this!'

She pretended to think long and hard before answering. 'Well I suppose given the choice I'd rather that in 20 years Hugo was able to flirt with a French half-Veela rather than a half troll. Although you failed at asking a certain Veela out when you were speaking English, so I don't hold out much hope for Hugo. I would like decent looking grandchildren though.'

Ron turned a horrible shade of red as he remembered what he had done in the run up to the Yule Ball in his 4th year. Fleur gave a tinkling laugh at the memory.

All was quiet for a moment. Then Ron turned around and murmured 'As I remember it was a troll that brought us together.' Hermione blushed crimson as she recalled how it wasn't Ron's ability to speak Troll which saved her that day, rather his spell-casting. At that moment it wasn't important that Harry had been there too. Right then, Ron was the only one she saw.

So it was decided. Fleur was family, she would teach the Weasley children.

Lily on the other hand was nothing like her brothers. They had no doubt that she would excel at a Muggle school. She was intelligent, remarkable so though they didn't consider her gifted. Children with Cerebral Palsy were often so. It had much to do with the amount of time they spent indoors. In Lily' s case, though she couldn't read to pass the time yet, she did spend a lot of her time asking questions. Often observing rather than taking part. Nor were they worried about her ability to keep 'the secret.'

It was just that, keeping her at home to learn had its positives. They didn't know how the other kids would interact with her; seeing as she was different. They were eager to find out of course, but her being hurt was a high price to pay. Then there was her actual disability itself. It would be much easier for her to manage with them around to help with everyday tasks. Stuff most people took for granted; like walking to the toilet, or using a scissors.

This was what Ginny thought anyway, when he brought it up again. Harry however was overall more inclined to lean towards her attending the same primary school as Albus, Rose. The same one that Hugo would also attend. He argued his points. She needed social interaction with other children, she would have Hugo, Hermione had told them Muggle schools had support systems in place for disabled children.

It would be a good idea to put her on the register in good time so they could prepare a place for her there. That was always the policy, even among wizards. To that end Lily's name had been put on the list for Hogwarts even before she was born.

She was well aware of it. After a bit of persuasion that was where they decided to send their daughter. She would go to a Muggle Primary School. Neither of them voiced it, but they knew what knew that the odds were that she would go to a Muggle Secondary school too. Yet neither of them had the heart to have her name wiped from the list of names down to attend Hogwarts on September the 1st 2019.

The last point, indeed the overall reason he thought it was a good idea, remained unsaid. Ginny knew it as well as he did. Wherever she went, whatever they did she would always be considered disabled, always have to explain. At least in a Muggle Secondary School she wouldn't be considered a Squib.


	9. Accidental Discovery

**A/N: Cast your eyes forward to late September 2015. **

Harry picked up his quill and dipped it in the inkpot with a sigh. He worked silently for a couple of minutes , then unable to take it anymore he looked up. Ron caught his eye. 'This one is taking ages.' He couldn't agree more. In some ways he wanted it to last forever, but then he also wanted to just get it over with.

Eventually, they finished. 'Did the others ones take so long? The only thing I've ever found more annoying than that report was one of Snape's essays.' Harry grimaced at the memory. 'Sorry it's not a barrel of laughs.'

'Don't worry I need to be sad today, I'm going to be laughing all the time from now on.' Harry supposed he was right. Today was to be his last day in the Auror Office. After much discussion, he had decided to help George with the family business. Weasley Wizard Wheezes was doing better than ever these days, having grown considerably in the early years following Fred's death. When George threw himself into work to forget the pain. Then, he continued to work extremely hard in order to provide for his family. Every single one of the Weasleys, whether they admitted it or not, were extremely conscious of their children never having to experience poverty.

Now, though Roxie and Fred were growing up. They needed him around more. But the shop was his baby. He wouldn't let anyone one run the Hogsmeade branch. He knew it had to be family? Just who exactly? Bill was happy with a desk job these days, as it meant he could be closer to his family. Charlie was still in Romania and had no intention of coming back anytime soon. George would rather cut his own heart out than to hand the joke-shop over to Percy. His older brother had business sense, but too much common sense and not enough of a sense of humour. Angelina loved George dearly but for them to work so closely together every day would be a bad thing. Ginny was busy writing for the Daily Prophet.

That left Ron. The jokester. The family man. The only one George could imagine working with on a daily basis. It seemed the right move. After the War there was a huge effort to eradicate the last of Voldemort's followers as well as Dark Wizards in general. Things were only settling down now. Less Aurors were being taken on. Those who had fought in the War had over the years progressed in the job. It wasn't for Ron though. For one thing, he hated paperwork. It was the right decision for all. Having been on the cards for a while, today was the day.

The case they had just finished would be there last one together. 'I know you have to finish what you start and all, but I wish my last day didn't just involve writing. I'd love one last case, just to have a final story for the kids.'

Harry paid him no mind. Stories were great if you lived to tell the tale. Harry loved his job, he couldn't imagine doing anything else. Yet he couldn't help but envy Ron who from now on could say for sure whether he would come home when he left in the morning. The worst thing that could happen to him was a smack in the mouth from one of the new prototypes.

Harry filed away the parchment as Ron buttoned his travelling cloak. They were taking the rest of the day off, to celebrate the beginning of a new era. It was then he heard it. He stiffened, reaching for his wand with lighting fast reflexes. He edged slowly out of the cubicle, on high alert. He needn't have bothered. The horse jumped the divide and landed gracefully on the desk. Ginny's Patronus pawed the ground nervously as it relayed the message.

'The school called. Lily's had an accident.'

It disappeared then. Leaving Harry reeling from the shock. His mind was clouded, everything happened in slow motion. Through the fog; one thing was certain, it must be serious. He left Ron in charge, making his way towards the nearest fireplace. Then he turned back, cursing. _It was a Muggle School; it wouldn't be connected to the Floo Network. _He tried and failed to disapparate the first time; unable to gather his thoughts. Taking several deep breaths he eventually managed to focus on his final destination.

He reappeared in the alleyway around the corner from the school. Sprinting onto the school grounds and up the steps to the reception area. There, he came face-to face with his wife who was talking with the secretary.

'... we don't know how far off the ground she got before she fell. She was found lying on her back on the concrete.'

According to the woman, she had fallen. Off a climbing frame. 6ft in the air.

She was falling more often these days. She had just made the transition to her crutches. She was still a little wobbly. Twice a day was average. But this? How did she get up there in the first place? She couldn't even climb the stairs at home!

Harry squeezed Ginny's hand as he asked the whereabouts of his daughter. The secretary led them to the first-aid room. There stood the worried head teacher. 'Mr and Mrs Potter. She appears unhurt, but there could be internal bleeding or anything of the sort. She hasn't spoken a word since the accident. I know on the medical form you said you wanted to be contacted first in the case of an emergency, but now that you're here I think it would be a good idea to call an ambulance.'

'No.' Harry was firm. If she was injured, there would be no messing about going to a Muggle hospital. She seemed reluctant to leave, but agreed to wait in the hall for their verdict. Maybe she thought Harry was a doctor or something. He did seem rather imposing, his training meant he could keep his head in a crisis situation. But this time it was different. This time it was personal.

As she as she was gone, the two of the rushed to their daughter's side. She recognised them and responded by trying to sit up. Ginny pushed her very gently back down. If her spine was at all injured, moving her would just make it worse.

'Does it hurt honey?'

She shook her head.

'Can you tell us what happened?'

She shook her head again. Harry was worried she would never speak again.

'Can you tell us what happened before you fell off?' It was a relief to find out that she could. That day at play-time Year 3 had engaged in a little mini Olympics. Replacing events like swimming with ones more suited to the venue. Like climbing. There was a competition to see who could reach the top in the shortest time. Lily had felt compelled to join in. At this admission Harry was gobsmacked.

'Lily! Do you know how dangerous that was? You could have been killed. You can't even climb.' _You can barely even walk!_

'But I can Daddy! I climbed on Sunday with you in the park. I did it today too.' It was then that Harry recalled how he had taken the kids to the park last weekend. He had helped her to climb. Never letting go of her for a minute, helping her with her foot placement. They got half way up.

'No honey. You fell, remember?' He watched as his wife reached forward and ran her finger's over he daughter's forehead. Checking for bruises bumps, cuts, swelling, a tender spot. Anything that would indicate a head injury. He was really worried now. He had never seen her like this before. She was never so abstract in her thinking.

'First I thought I could get one of the girls to help me like you did Daddy. But then they all left to do the next event. I was mad. I wanted to show them I could do it. I walked over and reached out my hand to one of the bars. Then, I was there.'

'On the ground?' Ginny wanted to know,

'At the top Mummy.' Harry couldn't understand it.

'... so you were angry and you found yourself at the top of the climbing frame? Just like that?'

She nodded vigorously, before going on with her story. 'Then I was at the top. I remembered that I couldn't make my legs work without help. I was scared. I wanted to get down but I couldn't. I couldn't even yell. I closed my eyes and held on tight. When I opened them again I was on the ground. Then people came over. I said wow, but they thought it was an ow. I'm fine. I don't want to go to the hospital.'

'So you were angry and you got to the top, scared and you got to the bottom.' She nodded again. For a moment Harry looked at his wife, the truth dawning on him. She looked back at him and then they both looked at Lily. Ginny's eyes sparkled with tears. Harry reached down and enveloped his youngest child in a hug.

When the Potters walked across the Burrow's yard later that afternoon they were greeted by a frantic Hermione. She took in Ginny's tear stained face and Lily in her father's arms and feared the worst. 'What happened? Ron siad there was an accident. Is everything okay?'

Neither of them spoke, they were too preoccupied trying to avoid stepping on the chickens. When they reached the kitchen, Mrs Weasley too was in a right state. Just then. Albus burst in closely followed by James. It was very crowded and noisy, with everyone trying to be heard over everyone else. Eventually Harry held up a hand to silence them all.

'James- your sister is fine. Albus- the rumours are wrong, she wasn't knocked unconscious. Everybody calm down! Lily, why don't you tell them what happened?'

Lily was happy to, though as far as she was concerned there wasn't much to tell. 'At play-time I was angry and I was at the top of the climbing frame. Then I was confused, and I was on the ground.'

'She fell off! It's a miracle she wasn't killed.' Hermione's voice was a shriek, her face thunderstruck. She glanced at Harry. He did indeed seem relieved his daughter was safe, but there was something else there too. She remembered that look from Ron's face when Rose walked for the first time. The look of a proud father. Then it dawned on her, a huge grin spread across her face.

'It wasn't a miracle was it? It was magic.'

It was both. It was a day they never thought would come. A magical day. The first of many, so it seemed.

**A/N: That was rubbish wasn't it? Forgive me, but I just couldn't think of a magical act for her to do. Don't worry I have better things lined up. The next chapter is a filler and the one after is the most important of all. I know this wasn't a great chapter; but it was still really important, and I enjoyed writing it immensely, **


	10. House Rules

Harry put away the last of the dishes and went to join his family in the living room. They were in the midst of setting up a game of Exploding Snap. One game turned to the best of 3 and then to the best of 6. They played together for a long time. Surprisingly James didn't complain of being bored- he knew his days of spending so much time with his family were limited. He was trying to improve, knowing that pretty soon he would play with housemates much harder to beat than his little sister.

'Okay Lily;. Time for bed!' Harry's announcement attracted a quizzical look from Ginny, and a snigger from James. Even Al had a hard time keeping a straight face. Lily was beyond outraged. 'Daddy it's only five past 8. It's the summer holidays. It's still light outside.'

'I'm glad I'm getting out of here soon. Parties in the common room all night every night. No senile parents!' James' round face was gleeful at the thought.

Harry did not appreciate that comment, however was glad to see his son's vocabulary was improving. He let it slide. Whatever hopes his son had would soon be dashed. The Heads of Houses were strict, especially with the First Years. James would be no different.

'No parties until 2nd year at least. Then, if your House wins the Quidditch World Cup with you on the team, you can party as much as you want. All night and into the early hours of the morning, Ginny consented. 'But of course that's just an annual thing.' Needless to say, this wasn't exactly what James wanted to hear. However he'd rather staying up and learning about the rules of Hogwarts over going to bed any day.

When Harry stood up, it appeared he was going to follow through. When he caught Ginny's curious eye, he mouthed the words _trust me_. She sighed and leaned back in her chair to continue telling the boys about life at school. _Sometimes he was so stubborn. Not to mention overprotective- especially when it came to Lily._

Lily struggled to her feet, sighing loudly like an rebellious teenager. She walked slowly, like a prisoner on death-row enjoying their last breaths of fresh air. Harry frog marched her into the hall. It was then that she made her last stand. 'Daddy!'. Her features were in full on pout mode. He looked back at her, his features the picture of serenity.

'Lily.'

I'm not even tired!'

'Well, that's exactly what I wanted to hear. If you're not tired then you won't mind taking the stairs...' This statement earned him a confused look from his daughter. She dropped to her knees, like she always did as if to say _don't I always? _He pulled her to her feet again. 'As in walk up them.'

'But... I could fall,' She looked at him as if to say, _wriggle your way out of that one._ He came prepared. 'Says the girl who 'fell' of a 6ft climbing frame last year and came out of it without a scratch on her. If you're afraid of falling, your magic will kick in- like it always does. Do you think I'd let things get that far anyway? I'll be right behind you the whole time.'

'I could just refuse and go up like I always do,' she mused.

'You could, But I could pick you up and bring you right back down again.' Harry stood firm. Lily was a Daddy's girl, but he would no longer let her believe he was a soft touch. This was for her own good,

'It will take forever.'

'We have all night.'

'But- it's so... ' _Unnecessary? So much effort? _

'Do you remember when you were 6 and we made the new rule? No crawling on the ground floor? Well I'm extending it to include the stairs.' The rule was something they had introduced to get her to do more walking. Not just in physiotherapy. Up until that point, she would crawl in the house. Leaving her walker in the hall, rather than bringing it any further. She could walk, and did when she was asked to, but otherwise found it much easier to get around on her knees. So, they had banned all crawling. For the first month or so that rule had been the bain of Lily's life. After that it just became part of her routine. The extra walking had the desired effect and made some real progress. Eventually abandoning her walking frame in favour of crutches at all times except play-time at school. That was for safety reasons- in case one of the other kids knocked into her while running and she fell.

At first, the rule had not applied to the stairs because she hadn't been able to climb steps. After the whole 'climbing frame incident they asked that she learn how to. She did. It took a long while to get it right, but now she could climb them. So, unlike the walker in the school yard, crawling upstairs was no longer a safety thing. Like a lot of other things, she didn't often climb stairs outside of physiotherapy.

When asked about it, she said she didn't see the point of doing it. You could just crawl up stairs, or take the lift, or buy a bungalow. That had been only a few days ago, when Harry took her to see Ella. Now that he was assured she could climb, he was going to show her the point. There being no other way, was certainly a good reason. He had something else in mind too of course. Something that would appeal to Lilly much more.

As parents, Harry and Ginny would rather use reward over threat any day. Today. was just like any other day. 'What if I said you had to?'

Lily was having none of it. 'The only thing you have to do is die.'

'Sure, but there must be some things you want to do?' For a minute, all was quiet as Lily simply stood there. When she met his eyes again, there was a sorrow in them so terrible that Harry immediately felt bad. _Of course she wanted to walk, of course she wanted to climb stairs. However, as she had told him many times herself she couldn't. Not now anyway. _

'Like attend a certain school of Witchcraft and Wizardry in a couple of years?' Lily's face lit up at the mention of Hogwarts. 

'Hogwarts? What's Hogwarts got to do with it?'

'It's a really old castle. Lovely architecture. It has 142 moving staircases. Some of them have trick steps too.'

'Once I get a wand I can float up them.' Her face stretched into a smile at the thought of flying.

'Good point. But one of the rules of Hogwarts is no magic in the corridors. You don't want to lose points for your house on your first day do you?'

'I'll get an exemption.' _An answer to everything had Lily, but he wasn't going to let her win. _

'Lily, you're no different to anyone else. Do you really want to be treated differently when you can help it? When you don't need to be?' At his words she set her jaw and her eyes flashed with determination. The likeness to her mother was striking. People might pity her and treat her differently at school. She had to deal with that. But he was sure that Lily being Lily had no intention of brining it upon herself. She squared her shoulders and took a step towards the stairs. She took the first step with caution. Proceeding to place one hand on the banister and the other on the wall for support. It was slow work, carefully planned. She made but one stumble. In that moment when it looked as though she was about to fall up the stairs, he reached for her waist to prevent it from happening. Like he had promised.

At this his daughter was furious. 'I don't want your help!'

'It looked as though you might need it.' Harry did not relish pointing this out to her, but it was necessary. There would always be times in her life when she needed help. She did not reply, only continued upwards. When they had reached the top, she sank to her knees. Sitting down to face him.

'I don't want it because I know I won't have it when I'm at School. You're not coming with me to Hogwarts. ' As though to prove a point, she struggled to her feet, rather than reverting to her knees. The ban on crawling had never been extended to the upper floor of the house. It was too cumbersome to bring her crutches with her and she was not very good at relying on the furniture alone to get around. So she usually crawled. Yet, Hogwarts students did not crawl at all, so she would have to change her ways.

She was willing to do anything if it ensured she could attend Hogwarts when the time came. Harry's plan had worked perfectly.

**A/N: Sorry for the lack of updates, I've been run off my feet with schoolwork. Don't know if this chapter was worth the wait or not, but I'd still like to know what you think. I Review please! A huge thank you to everyone's who read/reviewed/ followed/ favourited this. It means so much. **


	11. Light it Up

When Harry stepped out of the fireplace the first thing he saw was Ginny. He saw her opening the kitchen door when the flames disappeared. She did not see him, making a beeline for something on the wall. Sweeping a strand of her hair out of her face as she consulted it. She did not hear him, even though after weeks of moving with utmost stealth, this time he made no attempt to muffle his footsteps. She was in her own world. Standing with her back to him, looking through the calendar. Checking dates.

It was this particular image that set off alarm bells in his head. They been in a similar situation before. 3 times to be exact.

Curious, he moved to stand behind her. Wrapping his arms around her waist. She spun to face him, a huge grin on her face. 'Harry! I didn't know you were getting home today.' She squeezed him tightly. 'You have no _idea_ how good it is to see you.' She kissed him, melting into his chest. Fighting his urges, Harry broke away.

'What's wrong?' Something was definitely wrong. This was not the kiss of someone filled with love or even lust. It was the kiss of someone desperate, disorientated. Desperate to maintain the pretence that she knew what she was doing. Desperate to recall a time when she had known. Desperate to apologise. She knew this was her fault. If Harry had been there none of it would have happened. She could only hope he could make it better. He always knew what to do.

'Why would anything be wrong? Is there something wrong with me being glad to see you?' Her voice was somewhat accusatory, rising in pitch, even as she denied it. When Harry looked into her eyes for the first time, they seemed to flash in anger. Then he saw that it was the tears appearing in the corners, giving them a glassy look.

'Well you're yelling and crying and checking dates in calendars.' He paused before continuing cautiously. 'Any chance you might be...?' Ginny turned away from then. The tell-tale movement of her shoulders told Harry that she was either crying, or laughing. It was all very odd. A dull ache was resonating in Harry's temple. A reminder of how exhausted he was under everything else. Ginny was in a bit of a state to say the least.

'Ginny, seriously the hell is that matter with you?'

At this, she turned to face him. Her features showing her annoyance. 'Keep your bloody voice down,' she hissed. Yet, she wasn't all that peeved. She couldn't be. Her pale face was streaked with tears

'Why? Is it some big secret?'

'Of course not. You might as well know. I find it _hilarious_ that all you can think about is your-' Harry's immediate reaction was one of indignation. _He wasn't _that _bad._ Even so his mind strayed to memories of their final night together before he left for the mission. A total of 31 nights ago. _Even if he was, could she blame him?_

'So it's not a pressing issue?'

Ginny shook her head. 'We've enough trouble with 3 as it is.' _Did the problem have something to do with one of the kids then? Had James gotten another letter home?_

'No baby to worry about disturbing?' The briefest nod from his wife had him moving closer to her. Much closer. It was morning in late April. That could only mean one thing. His breath tickled her ear when he whispered. 'I have you all to myself then don't I?'

Well, not _all _himself. Not if another one of the most special girls in his life had anything to say about it anyway. A head popped around the kitchen door. Next minute, she was rushing towards him. Lily being Lily however, i wasn't a very graceful entrance. Her haste would have meant she fell at a heap at his feet, if he hadn't caught her. Swinging her upwards. Abandoning her crutches, her hands were now wrapped around his neck instead.

'Daddy, I'm not a baby. You wouldn't have disturbed me. I was doing anything important, just waiting to say hi. I didn't want to disturb you guys,' For a second her words made no sense but then it clicked. _Thank God Lily was still so innocent. Thank goodness James took all the Extendable Ears with him to Hogwarts..._

'I'm really glad you're here. It would have driven me crazy having to go all day without seeing you.' As soon as the words were out of his mouth he felt worried. _Shouldn't she be at school? Was she sick? Maybe that was what was wrong. _'Were you at school today Lily?' At this, she stiffened. She murmured 'I want to get down.' Obligingly, Harry set her gently on the ground and put a crutch in each hand. With that she was gone, as quickly as she came. Without giving Harry a chance to question her further.

He turned to Ginny, mystified. She sighed. 'There was an incident at school today.' She did not speak for a moment. Trying instead to find the best way to tell him what had gone on in his absence. _What kind of 'incident' was it exactly? Something like the 'accidents' that had been happening for the last 2 years?_

'The school went on fire.' After hearing this, Harry's mouth was hanging open. 'Really? Was the damage extensive? Did anyone get hurt? What about Lily?' Ginny expected these questions and she knew what answer she had to give, no matter how much she wanted to do otherwise.

'The smoke damage was pretty bad. It being a Muggle school, the repairs will take a long time. Lily- Lily's not okay...'

'What do you mean? Like 2nd degree burns or something? Did you take her to St. Mungo's? They'd sort her out easily enough. I mean they're equipped to deal with burns from dragons.' Harry mentally searched for the problem. Magic meant one thing; things didn't often go wrong, but when they did the consequences could be dire.

'The fire. It was an accident.' From her tone Harry could tell it was a spontaneous one. Brought on by magic. 'Only it wasn't.' She went on to explain, repeating what Lily had told her. Their daughter had been sitting in the classroom, learning times tables, the teacher droned on and on. To the point that he couldn't stand being there any longer. She was angry at having to be there and bored out of her brains. She wanted to leave. Rather than disappear in the middle of class- sure to be missed, she knew she had to wait. If she set off the school bell, Miss Johnson would just blame it on faulty electrics and carry on with the lesson. The fire-alarm however was a different story.

'When she set it off, the electrics took a bashing too. Sparking the flames,' Harry finished.

'Then they called those men- what are they called again?' There were too many people milling about for her to disappear- I don't know how she would have anyway, but she seemed to think she could. Honestly Harry, she had it all planned out- like she was breaking out of Azkaban or something!' So, she was forced to stay where she she stayed where she was- to await punishment, or that was what she said anyway. Her face upon arrival told Ginny everything she needed to know. She had no trouble extracting the story from her daughter.

'Did you? Punish her I mean?' Usually this wouldn't have come into the equation. Accidental magic was accidental magic. Harry, however was pretty sure this didn't qualify as the usual situation. At least not in Ginny's eyes.

'No.' Ginny kept her eyes trained to the floor while she said it. 'I don't think she should be either. I just don't think she should want to get out of school, or have the means to do it. I'm worried about her Harry.'

'So what you're really saying you consider her to be a physiologically disturbed arsonist?' Harry tried to keep his tone light. He could see where she was coming from, _but really? _

'You haven't been here, things are different now.' Harry nodded solemnly, _He couldn't deny that, but it wasn't exactly his fault. _He turned away from his wife, headed the sitting room. Closing the door gently behind him. Settling himself in the armchair opposite Lily. She put down her book and met his gaze.

'I know. I made a mistake.' She was simply stating the fact. She showed no signs of remorse at her actions.

'And that was what exactly?' Harry waited while she thought about it. Eventually she settled on something.

'I went too big. Too fast. It was wrong of me to put others in danger.' Harry was indignant. _She'd done this before? _He tried not to make it sound like an interrogation when he asked her what she meant by that.

'I've done it before. Lots of things. I never get into trouble. Not with the Ministry anyway. I like Muggles, but really they're quite ignorant. They think it's fate, or coincidence, or an accident. That's their answer for everything.'

'So you don't believe in accidents? Which means what happened today _wasn't _ an accident. You can control it.'

'I don't believe in magic either. I know it's real.' From about the age of 6 onwards Hugo started showing signs of magical ability. Lily would cover for him when necessary, When the time came, he did the same for her. If other children were involved, they would get them on side too. Back then everyone believed in magic. These days, if you even mentioned the word you get a funny look. Up until late last year, Hugo had started telling horror stories to explain away the odd happenings at St. Augustin's. Lily, for the most part was not a fan of horror. She was a lot more tolerant of it than any Muggle child, growing up around ghosts and all manner of creatures, but she did not like what Hugo was forced to do. The goings on at their school, meant that both herself and Hugo were labelled troublemakers and the building itself as being haunted.

Lily nodded. _They never were. No one got hurt. She had made sure of it. _

'I can do anything I want to. How I want. When I want.'_ She just couldn't control what happened as a result. _

'I've always been careful. Always been good. I've never been caught. Not really.' He waited, _there was more_. She told him the story of Shane. The boy who never believed Hugo's stories. One their class had an English test. They had all been seated in rows, with the desks separated. The topic was easy; My Day Out. Lily was trundling along; painstakingly forming her letters. Hugo was writing at hyper speed. Flying along, writing so fast the teacher was going to have trouble reading what he wrote. Hugo wasn't especially good at English. Although all of his teachers up along had praised him for the possession of an 'active imagination.' The logic behind it was simple. By wizarding standards his life wasn't all exciting. Yet he could make things up; sometimes creating an entire world, seemingly out of nowhere.

The boy who sat next to him, had more of a problem composing sentences. Upon occasion they had to read out what they wrote. His were never all that great. What's more he struggled to read them. English was not his strongpoint. Nor it turned out was honesty. That particular day, Lily had looked up from her copybook to find Shane looking over Hugo's shoulder copying his sentences. When Hugo saw, he raised his hand to tell. Everything would have been fine, if Miss Jennings hadn't chosen to be absent. The substitute teacher, Mr Lyons came down to investigate. By that time Shane had swapped the copies. It looked like Hugo had cheated. The teacher told them all to get back to work. He took Shane's word over Hugo's. Not even bothering to look at the copies. Hugo was kept in during lunch-time and given a lecture.

When he got outside he was seeing red. They started to make their way out into the sunshine when Lily heard the scream. It was coming from the boy's bathroom. Shane's scream. Hugo raced to the end of the corridor the second he heard it. He was afraid of what he might have done. Unable to run after him, or enter a boy's bathroom for that matter, Lily concentrated. Hoping that would be enough to right what Hugo had done wrong.

It worked. It turned out that Hugo had accidently turned Shane's hair from jet black to the exact shade as his own. Shane was the one who called him carrot top. This was the final straw. He hadn't been meaning to do it though. Hugo explained. 'I was thinking of the rhyme _liar liar pants on fire_. But I didn't think that would happen. I didn't want to use magic. I wanted to fix things myself.'

Lily had switched his hair colour and set the doors banging shut. If anyone asked, that was the noise they had heard. Lily had been considering trying to alter his memory too. It turned out though it wasn't needed. Everyone knew that Hugo had come out of the bathroom with Shane. Wasn't it possible he had been the redhead Shane saw in the mirror. The next time she saw him he was ranting and raving to anyone about what happened. Lily turned to him and whispered.

'Are you sure it wasn't a nightmare? Guilty people sometimes have nightmares about what they did. Or maybe a dream? I mean, only in your dreams could you be Hugo Weasley. So stop pretending.' Needless to say that shut him up. He turned an awful shade of red, it really looked like his hair was on fire! He retracted his statement about Hugo's cheating. So word didn't get home to Ron and Hermione. Lily and Hugo never spoke of it after that. Lily never told him what really happened. To this day, he still believed that it was he who had fixed things (as well as destroying them.) He who had gotten control over his magic his fear for Shane's life cancelling out his anger. When it had been Lily. She didn't see the point in telling him though; what he didn't know couldn't hurt him.

'So you used your magic to help. In secret.'

'Nobody knew anyway. Nobody needed to know. I had it under control. I still do.' So she had, for the last year at least. The incident with their classmate had happened over a year ago. Around the time that Lily's magical incidents had pretty much come to an end. After a good year and a half of trouble in school, they thought it a sign of progress. A sign that she was getting her temper under control. A sign that the other kids were treating her better. The reason hadn't mattered. Until now. Over the years she had gotten progressively better at keeping secrets; but now they were all coming out.

'It's not a secret anymore though is it? Your mum knows and so do I.' Not really sure what else to say, they sat quietly awhile. Eventually Lily picked up her book again. Taking it as his cue to leave Harry headed back to the kitchen. Ginny was sitting there, a cup of tea in her hands, gazing dejectedly into space. It was a couple of minutes before she met her husband's gaze. More still until she found the courage to speak.

'I don't know if I can do this. 9 years and I still feel like I'd do a better job as an auror than a mother At least then you know what you're in for.'

'They say it takes two to tango for a reason. Parenthood isn't really a one person job. She has the both of us.'

'Do you want to tango tonight then?' She was trying to distract him. Failing really. Anybody could see she was totally torn up, battling over the best way to help Lily. That was the moment when it occurred to Harry, what she had been trying to do when he arrived.

'I have plans tonight, but you're more than welcome to join us.' Ginny was perplexed upon first hearing this, but she soon caught on. Breathing a sigh of relief as she did.

'You think we should take her?'

He did. A night spent in a hospital room was a small price to pay for the health, his wife's sanity. Not to mention his own peace of mind.

Flooing inside, they made their way to the office. They knew the hospital well now, having walked its corridors many times over the years. When they arrived, Harry settled Lily in the chair opposite Dr. Thorne's desk, removing the disillusioning charm. Lily probably would have preferred if he'd left it on; it gave her an element of surprise she couldn't normally possess. However the purpose of the appointment was that he actually _saw _her.

After the usual greetings and pleasantries had been exchanged, they got down to business. 'To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?' They weren't actually due one until June, however he had agreed to see them this evening when he heard they had a problem. Ginny explained. Most wizarding children remained unable to control their magic until they started to attend school. So, why did Lily of all people, have such a good handle on it now?

Dr. Thorne took it in, nodding slowly. He opened a file marked with Lily's name on it. Having found what he was looking for, he turned back to them. 'Do you remember, when Lily was first diagnosed. At the time we discussed the origins of magic.' As he spoke distant bells rang in Harry's mind. He exchanged a look with Ginny and they both nodded.

'About how the areas between existence and control are linked over time, through the development of pathways...' He went on, mostly for Lily's benefit.

'How the pathway formed between these areas is different for all wizards. We did a survey on it, about 10 years ago. For most wizards, the pathway snaked through not only the areas attributed to speech, but that of conscious thought and motor control. The latter of those, in Lily's caused sustained damage at birth. I have a theory that her pathway's interaction with that area is minimal, perhaps even non-existent. Therefore the pathway to the higher centre attributed to magic is more direct. She will have reached it faster. Thus, having more control over her magic than most her age. Her peers will catch up, but it may take some time Although she may never be very reliant on physical movement to call upon her magic.'

'As I said it's just a theory. Although it would explain what you mentioned. I'm almost sure I can prove it, if you'll consent to another scan. The old ones won't do; the pathways wouldn't even have begun to form at that point.' Lily was up for it. She kept as still as she could, as Harry swept his wand over her. Her eyes were fixed on the screen where she could see her own brain for the first time. She actually found neurology fascinating, she simply wasn't Dr. Thorne's biggest fan.

She had to hand it to him though, he was right. Her pathway was direct. Passing through all the usual aspects, by-passing the area for motor control to a certain extent. It still entered and exited it, but only just. Thankfully, her magical pathway was confined to the part left undamaged. it simply His theory was correct. When the Potters left very late that night they knew where they stood with regard to Lily's abilities.

She was upstairs asleep when they finally got to talk it over. Ginny was very matter-of- fact about it. 'We have to send her now Harry.' Despite, encouragement given sending Lily to Hogwarts had never been set in stone. For obvious reasons; they just weren't sure if it was practical. Harry was still unsure though.

'What about the whole arson thing? Someone could get hurt' His argument was weak and he knew it. However, he would do anything to keep her safe.

'Didn't you once tell me that Dumbledore set fire to his curtains in 4th year? Face it Harry brilliant minds do all kinds of crazy stuff in the name of learning. Yeah, maybe she'll set fire to a couple of things- but at least by then she'll have learned to put them out.'

'What about her behaviour towards other children? She so...'

Ginny gave a little shake of her head before she went on. ' Honey she's a witch among Muggles. What do you expect?'

He didn't know. This was a whole new ball game. All of Lily's life he had known he'd do anything for her. Walk to the ends of the earth for her. He had done it. In his heart though he knew she wasn't meant to stay here. She was to meant to go high, so high that she met other met other stars. Eventually floating higher and shining brighter than them all. He had to let her go.

**A/N: That's me finished for now. What did you think of this chapter/ the story overall? Reviews would be fantastic. Thanks for all your support. Please PM with your opinions of my writing a sequel detailing Lily's time at Hogwarts. I always wondered how a disabled person would manage there. Would you like to find out?**


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